A beautiful young girl was standing outside. Rainwater was running down her hair and clothes and she was shivering with cold. The King asked her to come inside and took her to the warm room where the Queen and the Prince were waiting. The Prince fell in love when he saw the beautiful girl. She said she was a true princess. “Well, we’ll soon find out”, thought the Queen. She went into the bedroom and asked the servants to prepare a bed for the night. Then, she put a tiny green pea on the bottom of the bed. “Bring more mattresses!”, she ordered the servants. And, that night, the princess slept on top of twenty mattresses and twenty thick duvets. In the morning the Queen asked, “Did you sleep well, my dear?” “No”, she groaned. “There was something hard in the bed and I didn’t sleep at all. I’m black and blue all over!” Now the Queen knew. She smiled and told her son, “Only a real princess can have such delicate skin.” “A real princess at last!” gasped the Prince. “My search is over!” And so the Prince married the princess. As for the pea, it was put in a museum. It’s still there, unless someone has stolen it.