MONICA HUGHES - First Readers: The Princess and the Pea

This short fairytale tells the story of a Prince in search of a “real” princess. He searches far and wide for a real princess but returns home alone, sad and disappointed. One stormy night there is a surprise visit to the castle from a young girl claiming that she in fact is a real princess. The queen decides to test this by placing a pea at the bottom of the princess’s bed layered with 20 mattresses. The next morning the queen was shocked to hear that the princess had such a terrible sleep as only a “real” princess would feel such discomfort. This clarified that the girl was indeed a real princess, so tender that she could feel a pea in her bed. The prince and princess married and lived happily ever after.