Once upon a time there was a grand castle sitting on the top of a hill. In this castle lived a queen and her son.
Because the queen wanted grandchildren in her old age, she encouraged her son to depart in search of a princess. The prince, who was delighted with this plan, eagerly set off three days later.
The only problem was that he couldn’t find a princess. To be certain, there were plenty of ladies-but
not any real princesses. They were too pompous and mean. The prince’s hopes were dashed. He
slowly turned his horse around, mopped his frustrated brow, and rode home. His mother ran to him
when he came in. She sighed and called a servant.
Secretly she questioned, “Will he ever find a true princess?”
One year later, the prince was staring blankly out the window in his private room in the castle. The
gardener was caring for the plants. The new flowers were popping their petite heads up and
seemed to be ducking down again.
The prince mused gloomily, “Another storm is coming soon.” He sighed. The prince had had a
sense of despair ever since his expedition. His mother worried about her son, who used to be so
cheerful. The distraught prince seemed to never be his old self. Little did she know what this day
would bring…
Later that evening, as the prince was looking over some business papers, he heard a gentle rap at
the door. He stood up and opened it. There in the doorway stood a mournful picture. The long
golden hair of the girl was drenched. Her traveling cloak was soaked, her face dirty. Her hazel eyes
looked up at him. She curtsied and murmured, “Please let me in. I am the Princess of the Golden
Hills. I got stranded in the storm.”
The queen had come in by this time, and looking at the tattered figure, contemplated, “I’ll give her a
chance to show if her story is true.” She then exclaimed aloud, “Ah-my dear! Please come in. You
can head up with a servant and warm yourself. I will prepare your room!”
The girl was rushed off, murmuring her thanks as she went. The queen hurried upstairs. She bustled
into a room, locked the door, put the key in her pocket, and looked around the room. She had told a
servant to bring up several mattresses. She put mattress after mattress against a wall. She then
positioned several feather beds on top of those. Under all of these she placed a pea. She pushed
a ladder up next to the mattresses, and was done.
“Ah, because of the girl’s supposed heritage, she will feel that pea. If she is a princess, that is!” The
queen slipped into bed, hoping her plan would work…
The next morning the girl came to the breakfast table. Her golden hair was back in a braid, and her
eyes sparkled. She sat down happily.
“Well my dear, did you sleep well?” The queen studied the girl as she replied.
“Oh yes, thank you! I slept wonderfully!” The disappointed queen looked down. She was hoping that
this lovely girl, who had such a sweet personality, was to be her son’s long-sought-for wife.
The queen looked up as the girl explained, “Well, there was one thing. I was going to bed, but as I
was trying to get to sleep, I felt something. It was bruising me terribly. I got up and looked under the
bottom mattress, and found this.” She paused. In her little white hand was the pea! The queen’s
heart leapt for joy. The prince smiled.
A month later the prince, because of his love for the sweet princess, proposed to the girl. She
blushed, smiled, and as a response put her dainty hand in his strong one. They were married with a
beautiful wedding. They lived happily and had many children.
Who would have guessed that this would come of the prince searching and
despairing of his hope of ever finding a real princess?
By: Stella
For: Fundamentals of Writing Class
Grade: 6
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