The Princess and the Pea
ONCE UPON A TIME. there was a Princess who noticed just about everything. She noticed not only fresh footsteps on the grass, but could tell you whose footsteps they were. She could tell you not only every book in the royal library, but where it was located - on what row, and how many books from the end to count to find it.
Often the Princess kept her observations to herself – who wants to hear these things all day long? Yet every day and each moment, she was observing.
Thanks to Artist, DarthCrotalus
The Princess lived in a castle where everything was tidy and in its proper spot. The servants at the castle were forever dusting and putting things right. Even the walls gleamed bright with nothing to interfere with its clean, expansive space.
One afternoon when the Princess was outside riding in her coach, she was lulled into a deep slumber by the bump-bumping of the horse’s gait and the pit-pattering of soft rain against the window glass. Suddenly, lighting filled the sky - a crash, then the loud crack of a tree falling. The Princess bolted awake and realized at once that the horse was galloping off the road, sprinting through a field. And no wonder - her driver was missing!
The Princess pried open the coach window and a gush of rain soaked her face. She climbed to the front of the coach and took the reins. How long was the carriage speeding along with no driver? Finally she steadied the animal and it slowed to a trot.
How long was the carriage speeding along with no driver?
Ahead, the Princess spied an opening. If it was a path, it could lead to a road and a road could take her back home. She took the path, looking left and right for anything familiar. Where was she, anyway?
It was starting to get dark. The Princess knew her horse needed fresh water and rest, and she was hungry too. Above the treeline on top of a hill she noticed the spire of a castle. Perhaps the nobles in that castle would offer her and her horse a meal and a place to stay that night. She turned the horse upward toward the castle. The path was steep and rocky, and she led the horse and coach with care.
Then the coach suddenly hit a tree root, cracking a wheel! She noticed the long branches of weeping willow trees whipping in the wind. That must mean fresh water was nearby since weeping willow trees are often beside a pond. She decided to lead the horse and coach to the pond. The horse it could refresh itself, and she could see if she could fix the broken wheel.
As she steered the horse and coach to the pond, it got stuck and then, a second crack! The coach started to slip backwards. She quickly reached to grab the edge of the coach but as she also needed to hold onto the horse’s reins, she missed. The coach bump-bumped backward down the hill. In despair, the Princess could do nothing but to watch her coach fall downward.
In despair, the Princess could do nothing but to watch her coach fall downward.
Aft least the horse could drink its fill at the pond. Then the Princess climbed onto its wet and slippery back and they continued to the castle.
She knocked as loud as she could on the door of the castle gate. The gate was far from the castle walls - who would hear her knowck? Yet before long a servant girl approached the gate. The Princess explained the situation and asked if she might prevail on them to stay the night. The servant kindly ushered her inside the castle grounds.
The Princess took one look at the castle grounds. She had to restrain the urge to gasp out loud - what a mess! Debris everywhere - from piles of broken wheels, fallen-down sheds, gardens gone wild, to rusty tools and who-knows-what. “I can only imagine what the inside is like,” she shuddered. Still, when one needs a place to stay for the night, one tends to overlook this sort of thing. And so she smiled sweetly.
The servant ushered the Princess into the Great Hall. “Wait here please, Miss,” she said.
Still, when one needs a place to stay for the night, one tends to overlook this sort of thing.
“Thank you,” said the Princess.
As the Princess suspected, the Great Hall was no better. Rumpled clothes, capes and bolts of fabric were strewn about, interspersed with crushed baskets, faded boots, hats inside out, and debris she didbn't really want to identify. However she was a Princess after all, and said nothing. The servant stepped over piles of clutter as she made her way across the Great Hall.
In the distance the Princess heard the servant say, “Your Majesty, a young lady is here who says she is a Princess.”
“'Says?'” barked the Queen. “Do you doubt her?”
"If you please, Your Majesty," said the servant, "the young lady speaks like a Princess. But she's soaked through and doesn't look anything like any Princess I've ever seen.”
“Harumph!” said the Queen. “Bring her to me.”
"Harumph!" said the Queen. "Bring her to me."
The Princess followed the servant across the Great Hall. In the corner of her eye, she noticed several oil paintings askew on the walls. Badly crooked they were, yet drawn with such bold, compelling strokes! In one, bright flowers in a vase, in another a field under the afternoon sun, in another the buzz of a busy marketplace. The Princess thought of the vast empty walls in her castle back home. All of a sudden those walls seemed cold and bare.
“Do not tarry!” snapped the Queen to the Princess. “Come closer, where I can see you better.”
The Princess stepped up to the Queen and bowed.
“You say you are a Princess?” said the Queen.
“Yes, I am,” said the visitor with a curtsey.
“Surely you do not expect me to believe a young lady with mud splattered all over her face and dress is a Princess!” said the Queen. “Where are your servants? Where is your coach? I dare say you are wasting my time - claiming to be a Princess just to marry my son, the Prince!”
"Where are your servants? Where is your coach?"
“Your Majesty,” said the Princess, “I will not try to convince you of what is true. Instead, let me prove my worth to you, and perhaps by my efforts earn my dinner and a bed for the night.”
“What could the likes of YOU do to prove your worth?” snapped the Queen. "Princesses aren't the most useful people in the world."
“That is often so," said the Princess, "but how about if I were to straighten things out a bit?” The Princess waved a hand across the room. As she did so, the paintings again caught her eye.
“I see you like my son’s artwork,” said the Queen in a gentler tone.
“Is there a visitor, Mother?” said a voice, stepping into the room.
"Is there a visitor, Mother?" said a voice, stepping into the room.
“One who claims to be a Princess,” said the Queen.
“What I meant,” said the Prince, “is does the visitor like my paintings?”
“Very much, if this is your work,” said the Princess. “The way your flowers jumble all together, how do you do it? The way the sun seems to pulse in the sky, I feel as if I was there.”
The Prince beamed. “I am pleased,” he said, and nodded to the Princess with a smile.
“This young lady is offering to straighten up the place,” said the Queen, “to earn a night’s stay. I hardly know why she would say such a thing. The place is in perfect shape!”
“Maybe not exactly perfect shape” said the Prince, kicking a pile of tangled yarn aside with his foot. “You know, today several townspeople came to the castle to have their dispute settled, but the other people in the dispute came three days ago.”
"Maybe not exactly perfect shape," said the Prince, kicking a pile of tangled yarn aside with his foot.
“That’s ridiculous!” said the Queen. “Why didn’t all of them come at the same time?”
“We wanted our servants to deliver the message with the time to come, but no one could find the flyer,” said the Prince. “The servant tried to remember the date correctly, but--.” The servant quickly looked away.
“And you know what happened at our Royal Ball,” said the Prince.
“You mean the one that no one came to!” said the Queen, “until days after. And now they can’t stop coming.”
“The flyers got lost,” said the Prince. "No one knew exactly what day the ball was going to be.” There was a knock on the door. “Not again!” groaned the Prince. To the servant he said, “Tell them the Ball is over.”
The Queen turned to the Princess. “I suppose a little straightening up wouldn’t be the worst thing. But be quick about it! I'll check on your work later.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the Princess.
The Queen and Prince left the Great Hall, and the Princess got to work. She started by organizing things that were the same. Boots in one place, belts in another. Velvets and silks shaken out and stacked. Broken baskets to be mended (or thrown out) over here. Mystery items over there. She was pleased to discover a broom under one pile and used it to sweep away the dust to reveal a fine mosaic floor underneath.
She straightened the oil paintings on the wall, stepping back and smiling. How tidy the Great Hall looked now! With the energetic paintings giving life to the walls, it was an impressive sight.
How tidy the Great Hall looked now!
When the Queen and Prince returned, they could not believe their eyes. For the first time in years they could see the entire floor. It was made up of a lovely complex design of white and black marble tiles – who knew? The Prince was delighted to see his paintings hung straight. He turned to the Princess and they smiled again.
“We should keep things this way, Mother,” said the Prince.
“Son!” said the Queen. “Over here, now. A word.”
The two of them retreated to a drawing room off the Great Hall. Said the Queen, “This young lady may be clever enough with putting things away, but any maiden could do that. It does not mean she’s a true Princess.”
“Why does it matter?” said the Prince.
“You know very well why!” snapped the Queen. “You are a Prince and can marry only a Princess. I see the looks going on between you and that girl – don’t think I don’t! Mark my words, tonight I will find out if she is a true Princess!” The Queen called for her servant. Of that conversation, the Prince heard nothing.
"Mark my words, tonight I will find out if she is a true Princess!"
Later that night, the servant led the Princess to a room where she could stay. In the middle of the room 20 mattresses were piled on top of the other. A very tall ladder leaned against them all so she could climb to the top. “Does everyone sleep on top of 20 mattresses here?” said the Princess.
“Not really, ma’am,” said the servant, who said no more.
The Princess settled on top of the mattresses but try as she might, could not fall asleep. A small but very hard spot poked through. These were times when she wished she did not notice every detail. All night long she tossed and turned to stay away from the hard poking spot but as it was in the middle of the mattress, it was hard to avoid.
The next morning at breakfast, the Queen said to the Princess, “Good morning! How did you sleep?”
“Your Majesty, I thank you kindly for your hospitality," said the Princess. "Yet I regret to say not well at all. I scarcely closed my eyes all night. It seemed as if something very small and hard was in the mattresses.”
"Yet I regret to say not well at all."
“Well, my dear!” The Queen smiled a very broad smile. It was the first time the Princess had seen her smile. “I asked my servant to place one pea at the bottom of the twenty mattresses. Only a true Princess would notice such a thing. You are a Princess after all!”
“That I am,” said the Princess, with a curtsey.
“Now you can marry my son and move into this palace!” said the Queen. The Prince looked with hope at the Princess.
“If we might hold off a bit,” the Princess said quickly. “I do admire your son's talent and he seems very nice. But we just met! How about if I stay awhile longer and show everyone how to keep the castle tidy? The Prince and I could spend time together. If that's all right, I'll send a message to my parents so they know where I am.”
“Sounds like a plan!” said the Prince eagerly.
"Sounds like a plan!" said the Prince eagerly.
In the days that followed, the Prince and Princess found time to be together throughout the day. The Princess admired how the Prince was able to capture just the right feeling from nature with his careful strokes on the canvas. He grew to appreciate even more how deeply the Princess observed the world.
In the meantime, the entire castle was put in order. The Prince painted one new painting after another to decorate the walls. He even painted a large portrait of the Princess herself, and this one was placed in the very center of the Great Hall. The Princess loved to gaze at the paintings, and the Prince loved to gaze at her. They knew they would enjoy the world even more richly and deeply, if they could enjoy it together.
For their wedding, this time everyone in the land knew exactly when the royal event was going to take place. Flyers were posted throughout the land and on the wedding day, all guests showed up on time as they should. Everyone had a marvelous time, and the Princess and the Prince lived happily ever after.
This is good.