There once was a prince who really, really wanted to find a true princess. Not just any princess, mind you, but a *real* one. He traveled all over the world, looking for her. He met many princesses. Some were very pretty, some were very clever, but there was always something… not quite right. He could never be sure if they were *truly* real princesses. So, he came home to his castle, feeling a little bit sad.

One evening, a terrible storm blew in. Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and rain poured down in buckets! Suddenly, there was a knock at the castle gate. Tap, tap, tap!

The old King himself went to open it.

Standing outside was a young lady. Oh, she was a sight! Rain dripped from her hair and her clothes. Water ran out of the toes of her shoes and down her heels. But she said she was a princess.

"Hmm, we'll soon find out if that's true," thought the old Queen. She didn't say anything out loud, but she had a clever idea. She went into the guest bedroom. First, she took all the blankets and sheets off the bed. Then, right in the middle of the bed boards, she placed one tiny, little pea.

On top of the pea, she piled twenty mattresses! And on top of the twenty mattresses, she piled twenty soft feather beds! This was where the princess was to sleep.

The next morning, the Queen asked the princess how she had slept.

"Oh, terribly!" said the princess. "I hardly closed my eyes all night! Goodness knows what was in that bed. I felt like I was lying on something hard, and I'm black and blue all over. It was just awful!"

Now they knew she was a real princess! Only a real princess could be so sensitive that she could feel one tiny pea through twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds.

The Prince was overjoyed. At last, he had found his true princess!

So, he married her. And the pea? Well, they put it in a special museum, where you might still see it today, if it hasn't been lost!

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