The Real Princess

"The Real Princess," also known as "The Princess and the Pea," is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a prince seeking a true princess to marry. The prince travels the world, but cannot find a princess he feels is truly authentic. One stormy night, a bedraggled young woman claiming to be a real princess arrives at the castle gate. The Queen tests her claim by placing a single pea beneath twenty mattresses and twenty featherbeds. The princess' sensitivity, evident when she complains about a terrible night's sleep due to feeling the pea through all the bedding, convinces the royal family she is a true princess, and the prince marries her.