Once upon a time, in a castle on a green hill, there lived a young prince. The prince hoped to find a princess to be his friend and, one day, his bride. "But not just any princess," he said. "I would like a real princess, with a gentle, kind heart."
The prince travelled far and wide. He met princesses who sang, princesses who danced, and princesses who rode fast horses. They were all very nice, but somehow the prince was never quite sure. So he came home to the castle, feeling a little quiet.
One evening a big storm rolled over the hill. The wind went whoo-oo-oo, and the rain went pitter-patter, pitter-patter on the castle roof. Then, knock, knock, knock, someone was at the castle gate. The old king went to open it himself. There stood a young girl, dripping wet from her hair to her shoes. "Good evening," she said politely. "I am a princess from a kingdom over the hills. My carriage wheel is stuck in the mud. May I stay here until the rain stops?"
"A princess?" thought the queen, looking at the girl's muddy shoes. "Well, we shall see." But first, the queen wrapped the girl in a warm blanket and gave her a cup of warm milk with honey. "Thank you so much," said the princess. "You are very kind." Then, even though she was tired, she helped carry the teacups back to the kitchen.
While the princess dried her hair by the fire, the queen tiptoed to the guest bedroom. She placed one tiny green pea on the bed. On top of the pea she put a soft mattress. Then another mattress, and another, and another, until there were twenty soft mattresses in all! And on top of those, she piled twenty fluffy feather quilts. The bed was so tall that the princess needed a little ladder to climb up.
"Good night, dear," said the queen. "Sleep well." The princess climbed up, up, up the ladder, snuggled under the very top quilt and closed her eyes. The rain went pitter-patter. The candles flickered. The castle grew quiet.
In the morning, everyone gathered for breakfast. "How did you sleep?" asked the queen. The princess gave a small yawn. "Thank you for the lovely bed," she said kindly. "It was so soft and warm. But I think something little was hiding underneath. I kept feeling a tiny bump all night, so I wriggled this way and that way. I hope I didn't make any noise."
The queen clapped her hands. "Only a real princess could feel one tiny pea under twenty mattresses and twenty quilts!" But the prince was smiling about something else. "She was tired, and she still said thank you," he said. "She still helped carry the cups. That is the kindest heart of all."
When they showed her the little pea, the princess laughed. "Oh, you funny little pea," she said, holding it in her palm. "You don't want to sleep under a bed. You want to grow!" So she and the prince went out into the castle garden, where the rain had made the earth soft, and they planted the tiny pea together.
The prince and the princess became the best of friends. Every day they watered the little pea, and it grew and grew into a tall green plant with curly tendrils and pretty white flowers. And the queen, who liked keeping special things, kept one little pea from that plant in a glass box in the castle hall, where visitors can still see it today.
Every night, when the stars come out over the castle on the green hill, the prince and the princess whisper good night to the pea plant. Then they go to bed, in beds with just one soft mattress each. And they sleep all night long, snug and warm, without a single bump.
Parent tip: Slow down and soften your voice as you count the mattresses, giving the blanket one gentle pat with your child for each one.
Ask your child: After the story, you can ask: “Who was kind in this story, and what did they do?”
This is a gentle, cosy retelling with a warm welcome on a rainy night and nothing scary in it.