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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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Comments

Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/22/2010 - 09:43

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One of my best memories. I was a fussy kid, always insisting my bed had no wrinkles. Every night when my Mom helped me "Fix" the bed, she would tell me this story, tuck me in and Say "Goodnight Princess".

Submitted by admin on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 15:49

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no

Submitted by admin on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 06:13

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I used to tell my granddaughter this story when she spent the night. She slept on a twin high poster bed we called the princess bed. she is a school teacher married and has the bed. I would like to get a copy of this book and have it framed along with the pea we always knew she was a princess if she slept well no pea restless that pea was there. I thought she could hang this over the bed and maybe someday her little girl wouldlike this too. Where can i get acopy of the book?

Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/05/2011 - 17:03

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nice story

Submitted by admin on Sat, 10/22/2011 - 08:49

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good story

Submitted by admin on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 13:07

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"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"
Iska kya matlb smj ni aaya

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