Long ago, in a land quite forgotten,
there lived a queen whose only hope was that
her son, the prince, would find happiness.
Each night her dreams were filled with this
wish.

Certainly the prince had every
reason to be happy. The king and queen
loved him. The castle where he made his
home was comfortable. Servants waited
upon him, eager to fill his every need.
Still, the handsome prince was sad and
lonely. He wanted to marry, but not just any
bride. He wanted to marry a true princess.

Many beautiful girls lived in the
kingdom and in lands across the ocean and
over the mountains. Girls who said they
were princesses. And so the prince, with his
mother's help, decided to meet every girl and
choose a bride.

One by one, girls came to the castle to
meet the prince and the queen. But none was
the bride he wanted. At last, the prince gave
up his search.

Late one dark and rainy night, the
prince and his mother and father heard a
timid knock at the door. Curious, they
opened it and let it swing wide.

Blown in with the wind and the rain was
a girl. When she pushed back the hood to her
cape, long golden hair fell about her face.

The prince thought that she was the
most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
Quickly, he led her close to the fireplace
where a great blaze roared. As she warmed
her hands and let the rain dry from her dress
and cape, she explained that she was a
princess, a real princess who had lost her
way in the dark.

The queen thought that this story was
the tallest of tales. Yet she held her tongue
and made a plan. The plan would certainly
tell if the girl was a princess or if she was an
imposter.

"Stay tonight, my dear," said the
queen. "In the morning we will help you
find your way back home."

After the little princess agreed, the
queen left to prepare a room. She stacked
six mattresses high upon a large bed. Then
she placed three small peas at the bottom of
the pile.

The queen then led the princess into
the room.

"I hope you will be comfortable here,"
she said.

The princess had never seen such a tall
bed. She watched as the queen left the room.
Then she climbed to the highest mattress and
snuggled under a soft, flowered blanket.

The next morning, when the princess
met with the prince and his mother and
father, she was very, very tired.

"Did you rest easily?" asked the clever
queen.

"You are quite kind," answered the
princess, who did not want to sound rude. "I
slept . . . just fine," she said, trying not to
yawn.

"You slept fine, you say?" asked the
queen. "Well then, a good sleep in that bed
proves you are not a true princess. Now I
think it's time for you to leave."

"But wait," said the prince, turning to
the princess. "Tell us truthfully, how did you
sleep last night?"

"Well, to be honest," said the princess,
"it felt like I slept on stones. I hardly slept at
all."

"See mother!" said the happy prince.
"She really is a princess!"

The prince and his princess were filled
with happiness. The king and queen blessed
their marriage and sent them to live in a
nearby castle.

Whenever the queen came to visit, she
was given her own room with a special bed,
where she spent many comfortable nights.
And although she never cared to check beneath
her mattress, the queen would have been quite
surprised to find what was there ... !