The Princess and The Pea – Short Story for Kids

Once upon a time, a young prince wanted to get married.

So he went around the world looking for the right princess to marry. Alas! He found none!

Something or the other was always a miss in all princesses he met to be a true princess to his people.

One stormy night after the prince came back home, He and his family were having their dinner when there was a commotion outside the castle door.

The king went to see what was going on. When he got there she was surprised to see a young girl drenched. He asked her who was she. She said, ” I am a princess, I was passing through the storm and the horses got frightened and dragged my carriage into slush and mud”.

Nobody who looked at the young girl could believe that she could ever be a princess. She looked like a poor peasant girl. The prince asked the queen whether she is really a princess. The queen said we must wait till morning to know it.

The queen went to the room prepared for the princess. The queen took out a pea from her pocket and placed it right in the middle of the princess’s bed.

She ordered the maid to bring twenty mattresses and place them on top of the pea. All night long the princess didn’t get much sleep.

In the morning, the queen asked the princess whether she slept well. The princess said, ” My bed was really soft but something was not right and I got bruises all over my back.”

The queen was happy because she knew that the girl was a true princess. Only a real princess who has lived all her life in comfort can feel a small pea kept under 20 mattresses. She said to the prince that she is the one he had been looking for.