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The Princess and the Pea

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.

Well, we'll soon find that out, thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.

"Oh, very badly!" said she. "I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!"

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.

Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.

There, that is a true story.

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Rate this story:

Average: 3.5 (14 votes)

Comments

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I LIKE IT!

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i love the story i thout it was a brill story and i injoyed reading it. it was defently a fairy tale and it was rote very well. the story was fab and i likeed it and little childern will like it to. it was fab aprilxxx

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This story is very nice for younger children it is not hard to read and there isnt much writing although this is a very borring story fro older children i got extremley bored in the first paragraph.There is hardly no detail,No cliff hangers it would be good for a childs first book around the age of 5-7 years.

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I think this story is good and interesting and very imaganitive so it dosnt really matter if people say its bad because i think it is good !but i would like to now how they thought of a story like that because you would never think of lying on a pea ! :)

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The story of princess and the pea had a really good moral and it make you want to read on.i give 5 stars becoz it is very intresting and good vocabulary.also i think it was a traditional story.i totally loved the story.i loved reading prinncess and the pea it just looks as if that it is happing to me.

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It is a very nice story.
I heard it when I was a child.
now I am a mother with two little boys.
I believe I tell the story to them and they must like it. When they have their children someday, they will tell the story to them.
I really like this story.

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I liked the story, but wouldnt the pea break when you were to put 20 mattressess over top. but i guess thats why IT IS A FAIRY TALE. huh! But any who i am printing this off and reading it to my daughter. i think she would like to hear it with me.

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ok, some people have the oddest comments. and extremely bad punctuation. Now the story was ok, I wouldnt brag, I liked the idea of the story but the story itself could have been written and set out a bit better. This version though is probably good for younger, younger children.. RAHH!

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And the moral is?
(1) Dont judge a book by its cover?
(2) Dont be too picky?
(3) What is yours will come to you in the end?
(4) Dont give up?
(5) Dont marry princesses because they are overly sesitive?
(6) Mother-in-laws are crazy?

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dont you love the representations of women in so many fairy tales... great lessons for our young children arnt they: hey son/ daughter listen to this women are week and delequit o and just to brain wash you wrongly some more love apparently doesnt exist its all about marrying for money and beauty.

xox
(note my sarcasm please)

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