The Princess and the pea | Sunday Observer
Well loved tales

The Princess and the pea

16 January, 2022

Once upon a time there was a prince who lived in a splendid palace. He always said, “ I will only marry a real princess”.

A princess

However, the prince was unable to find the ‘Princess of his dreams’. He set off on a long journey to find a ;real princess . After travelling a lomg distance he came to a splendid castle. He stopped and checked to see if there was a ‘real princess’ but sadly, no ‘Real princess’ lived in this splendid castle.

The prince went on his way and covered hundreds of miles and many kingdoms.

A disappointed prince

During his journey the prince met many beautiful and charming princesses but they did not fit his idea of a ‘Real princesss’.

Many kings and queens asked him to marry their daughters but he said, no to them all. Finally, the disappointed prince returned home.

A violent storm

One night when the people were sleeping snugly in their beds a violent storm hit the kingdom and woke everyone up.

Thunder crashed and lightning flashed.

The king was lying on his bed in the Royal Chamber at the time. In the brilliant light of the flashing lightning he saw a frail figure standing outside in the torrential rain.

The king went down and opened the great castle door. Standing outside was a beautiful young girl. She was shivering with the cold and she was drenched from head to toe.

“ Who are you” asked the King and led her inside. The Queen and the prince had already come down.The King asked her again as to who she was.

“ I am a real pricess. Your Majestyreplied the girl and she bowed to the king and queen.

The young prince had fallen in love with the girl at first sight.

A plan

The queen wanted to make sure that the the girl was truly a princess and she thought long and hard how to do it.

Finally, the Queen thought of a plan.

The plan

She set about preparing a bed for the girl. First, she puy a hard, little pea on the bed, Then, she asked the castle maids to put mattress upon mattress on the bed. When it was finished the bed was so high that a ladder had to be placed against it for the girl to get on to the bed.

Then, the Queen escorted the visitor to the bedroom and said, “i have made a comfortable bed especially for you. Have a good night’s sleep “.The girl climbed up the ladder, got into bed and settled down to sleep.

The pea

But she could not fall asleep. Something small and hard kept pricking her the whole night. She tossed and turned and tried different ways of sleeping but she could not be comfortable. Something little and hard kept pricking her.

The next morning the queen visited the girl and asked her whether she had a good night’s sleep.

‘Oh, no replied the girl. I did not get a wink of sleep. Something hard kept pricking me”. It has been the worst night of my life “

“You are indeed a real princess “, said the Queen.

On hearing that the girl was a real princess the prince who had already fallen in love with her asked her to marry him. She agreed. They had a grand wedding and lived happily ever after.


 

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