The Princess and the Pea
A stormy night, a towering bed, and one tiny hidden pea
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The Princess and the Pea
A prince wanted to marry a princess, but after travelling around the world he was still unsure whether he had found a real one. He met many princesses on his travels.
He returned home sadly to the castle where his father, the king, and his mother, the queen, lived. The journey was over for now.
The Princess and the Pea
One evening, a terrible storm shook the castle with thunder, lightning and pouring rain. The sky had grown dark.
Someone knocked at the town gate, and the old king went to open it himself. The knock sounded through the storm.
The Princess and the Pea
A young woman stood outside with water dripping from her hair, clothes and shoes, and said she was a real princess. The rain had left her thoroughly soaked.
The king admitted her, while the queen quietly decided to find out whether her claim was true. The visitor had reached shelter at last.
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Explore this illustrated story at four reading levels. Each level follows the same essential events.
Collection: Fairy tales
Retelling: Denmark · Hans Christian Andersen
For parents: New English retelling of Andersen’s Danish Prindsessen paa Ærten (1835), checked against M. R. James’s 1930 translation. Keeps the original one pea, twenty mattresses and twenty eiderdowns, the prince’s search, king opening the gate, queen’s secret test, sleepless night, marriage and pea in the treasure chamber. The royal family’s peculiar test remains part of the fairy tale.
Public-domain source: View the recorded source edition