The Princess and the Pea

Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince who was searching for a bride. He wanted to find a princess who was not only beautiful but also kind and intelligent. But the prince had a problem – he could not tell whether a girl was a real princess or not. He had heard stories of girls pretending to be princesses, and he did not want to be deceived.

One stormy night, a young woman arrived at the prince’s castle. She claimed to be a princess and asked for shelter from the storm. The prince was immediately smitten by her beauty, but he was also suspicious. He decided to test her claim of being a princess.

That night, the prince ordered his servants to place a pea under twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds in the room where the young woman was to sleep. The next morning, he asked the woman how she had slept. She replied that she had hardly slept at all, for there had been something hard and lumpy in her bed.

The prince was overjoyed – he knew that only a true princess would be so sensitive that she could feel a pea under twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. He proposed to her on the spot, and she accepted.

The couple lived happily ever after, but the story of the princess and the pea became famous throughout the land. Many young women came to the prince’s castle claiming to be princesses, but he always tested them by placing a pea under their mattresses. And although many women claimed to have slept poorly, only one could feel the pea – the true princess.

Years later, the prince and princess passed away, and their descendants inherited the castle. One day, a young woman arrived at the castle, claiming to be a princess. The descendants of the prince were skeptical, but they agreed to test her by placing a pea under her mattress. The young woman slept soundly through the night, and the descendants knew that she was not a true princess.

However, the next day, the young woman revealed that she had a secret – she had removed the pea from under the mattress before she went to bed. She had heard the story of the princess and the pea and wanted to prove that the story was just a myth. The descendants of the prince were impressed by her intelligence and honesty, and they welcomed her into the castle as a guest.

From that day on, the descendants of the prince no longer tested their guests by placing a pea under their mattresses. Instead, they welcomed everyone with kindness and hospitality, knowing that true nobility came not from birth or wealth, but from a kind and compassionate heart.