the real princess by hans christian andersen

What with the rain and the wind, she was in a sad condition the water trickled down from her hair, and her clothes clung to her body. It was a Princess who was standing outside the door. All at once there was heard a violent knocking at the door, and the old King, the Prince's father, went out himself to open it. One evening a fearful tempest arose, it thundered and lightened, and the rain poured down from the sky in torrents: besides, it was as dark as pitch. At last he returned to his palace quite cast down, because he wished so much to have a real Princess for his wife. Princesses he found in plenty but whether they were real Princesses it was impossible for him to decide, for now one thing, now another, seemed to him not quite right about the ladies. He travelled all over the world in hopes of finding such a lady but there was always something wrong. So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.There was once a Prince who wished to marry a Princess but then she must be a real Princess. Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that. Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. 'I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept. On this the princess had to lie all night.

But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses. 'Well, we'll soon find that out,' thought the old queen. And yet she said that she was a real princess. The water ran down from her hair and clothes it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it. One evening a terrible storm came on there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess. There was always something about them that was not as it should be.

There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess but she woul have to be a real princess.

The real princess by hans christian andersen