The Real Princess

Once upon a time, there was a Prince who wanted to marry a Princess. But she had to be a real Princess. He traveled all over the world, hoping to find one. He found many princesses, but he could never be sure if they were real. Something always seemed wrong. At last, he returned to his palace, very sad, because he wanted a real Princess for his wife so badly.

One evening, a terrible storm broke out. Thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and rain poured down in buckets. It was pitch dark. Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the castle door. The old King, the Prince's father, went to open it himself.

Outside stood a Princess. The rain and wind had soaked her completely. Water dripped from her hair, and her clothes stuck to her body. She said she was a real Princess.

“Ah, we’ll soon see about that!” thought the old Queen. But she didn’t say a word about her plan. Instead, she went quietly into the bedroom, took all the bedding off the bed, and placed three little peas on the bed frame. Then she piled twenty mattresses on top of the peas, and twenty feather beds on top of the mattresses.

This was the bed where the Princess would sleep that night.

The next morning, they asked her how she had slept. “Oh, very badly!” she replied. “I barely closed my eyes all night. I don’t know what was in that bed, but something hard was poking me. I am black and blue all over! It hurt so much!”

Now everyone knew she must be a real Princess. Only a real Princess could be so sensitive that she could feel three tiny peas through twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds.

The Prince married her right away, certain that he had found a true Princess. As for the three peas, they were put in a museum, where you can still see them today—unless they have been lost.

Now, wasn’t that a lady with truly delicate skin?