Once upon a time, there lived a prince named Alexander, who wanted to marry a princess.
Despite searching far and wide, he was unable to find one.

Disheartened, he said to his friend, “I travelled all over the world to find a princess but have been unsuccessful. I never thought it would be this difficult.”

“But there are so many princesses. Why do you say you haven’t found one yet?” said the friend.

“I am not sure. I met many princesses, but something was not right about them. I don’t feel any of them is a real princess,” answered Prince Alexander.

“You make no sense,” said the friend.

“I know, ” replied Prince Alexander with a sad smile.

One day there was a terrible storm, and there was a knock on the palace doors. A guard opened the door to find a young lady dripping wet from head to toe.

Addressing the guard, the lady said, “I am Princess Alice. I was on my way to my kingdom. The heavy rain, along with bad roads, caused an accident and I got lost. Can I stay the night?”

The guard excused himself and went to the queen. “Your majesty, a princess named Alice, has come to our palace. She wants a place to stay the night,” said the guard.

The queen asked, “A princess, you say? Let us put her to test, shall we?”

Calling her attendant, she said, “Arrange a room for Princess Alice. But first, I want you to remove the mattress from the bed. Then place a pea on the cot, and on top of the pea, place twenty thick and soft mattresses. Take the princess to the room and let her sleep on that bed tonight.”

“As you wish, your majesty,” replied the attendant and did as ordered.

The following day, the queen called her attendant to bring the princess to her. Introducing herself, she said, “Welcome, Princess Alice. I hope you had a good night’s sleep.”

Princess Alice first bowed before the queen. Then she said, “Thank you for your hospitality, your majesty. But unfortunately, I slept very badly. I was sleeping on something hard, and my body hurts badly.”

The queen knew that only a real princess would have felt the hardness of a pea through the twenty mattresses. Nobody but a real princess would be this sensitive.

When the queen conveyed this information to her son, he was pleased. Prince Alexander then met Princess Alice. Before long, he proposed to her. Prince Alexander and Princess Alice married and lived happily ever after.

The pea was kept in a museum and till today, people tell the story of why the pea is so precious. Unless, of course, someone has stolen it.

Author’s Note:

“The Princess and the Pea” is one of the earliest stories written by Andersen.

It is a fun tale that has not much logic attached to it. The sensitivity that the prince searches for in the princess could be more symbolic than literal. A princess who is sensitive to the needs of her people would make a great queen.