It was a stormy night when the princess came. Yet everyone followed her to the door, or atleast the men. They were all in love with her but she was not with them.
When the Queen answered the door. She knew a true princess stood before her. The one she had been looking for the whole time, to marry her son. The prince however had his doubts. She didn't seem as elegant as the others.
"May I please come in?"asked the princess.
The prince was about to turn her away but the queen opened wide the door. Then she led the way to the dining hall. When they left the prince turned to a servant standing in the hall.
"You! Go and make the bed! The way my mother would always say to when a 'princess' came to stay!"
The servant nodded and ran off. The prince went to join the queen and the others. Dinner was noisy as the queen and princess chatted away. The prince was unusually quiet, but when the princess said she wanted to go to bed.
"I'll be glad to take you." said the prince, not wanting to let his mom see the bed.
" Thank you." she said.
The prince led the princess to the room. The bed was stacked with matresses and comforters. He helped her onto the bed and left the room. The princess closed her eyes and waited until the footsteps faded away.
Now the princess was a princess. But she wasn't as delicate as most. However she was very smart. She climbed down from the bed, lifted the bottom matress, and pulled out a mushy pea.
"No wonder all those princesses were sent away. They should really freeze them or something first." she whispered.
The next morning, the prince came to take the princess to breakfast. He was happy to see she seem well rested.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked.
The princess pointed to a matress layed out on the floor. " I found the floor more comfortable." she said. " I think one one those has some sort of lump in it."
Now the prince was trying hard to hide his dissapointment. He really didn't like this princess. She wasn't half as good as the others, he thought. he had to find another way to prove she wasn't a princess.
After breakfast the prince found the servant he had talked to the night before. " Make the princess's bed. Make it the same way you did last night but this time use a feather instead of a pea." He ordered.
"Yes sir, but..." he said.
The prince cut him off. " Just do it! And do not let the queen know!"
The same thing happened again. The princess checked the bed, slept on the floor, etc, etc. The prince decided to try one more time. This time...
" Spill this tea on every matress except the first three and the bottom three." he ordered.
That night the princess checked the bottom matress. Nothing. She checked the rest. She wasn't stupid. She could smell the tea. However she couldn't find where it was. She slept on the bed made for her that night.
" Did you sleep well?" the prince asked the next morning.
" Yes, very well." she said. " No lumps last night, nothing."
The prince couldn't hide his glee. He ran to tell the queen who, upon learning that the girl staying with them wasn't a true princess sent her away. The princess argued but eventually left the kingdom in search of another prince.
For you see the princess did know of the tea just as much as the feather and pea. She pretended she didn't, her reasons should have been clear. The prince didn't love her. She wasn't stupid. If he needed so much truth he should marry a lawyer or detective or something!
The End Etc
