What is the moral of The Princess and the Pea?

Don't judge people by how they look: the girl soaked by the rain turns out to be a real princess. Andersen also tells it with gentle humor, since the royal test itself is a bit silly.

Who wrote The Princess and the Pea?

The Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. He published it in 1835 in his first collection of fairy tales, in the same small book as The Tinderbox. It is an Andersen tale, not a Grimm one.

How many mattresses are in The Princess and the Pea?

Twenty mattresses, with twenty soft quilts on top of them. The queen puts one small pea at the very bottom, and the princess still feels it.

How does The Princess and the Pea end?

The prince marries the princess, because he has found a real princess at last. The pea goes into a museum, where, the story says, you can still see it if nobody has taken it. It ends: "And that is a true story."

What does "princess and the pea" mean when people say it?

People sometimes use it as a joke for someone very sensitive, who is bothered by the smallest thing, like the princess who felt one pea through forty layers of bedding.

The Princess and the Pea Story

Ages 3–7
English audio 2 min
Mandarin audio 4 min

The Princess and the Pea is a classic story from Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales, for children aged 3–7. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 2 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 4 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

Andersen's short tale: a rain-soaked girl says she is a real princess, so the queen hides a pea under twenty mattresses. With native English narration, plus the Chinese version in Mandarin.

0:001:53

Tap any sentence in the story to start reading from there. It stops at the end.

Record about a minute of your voice, and every story here can be read to your child in it. Credits come back automatically if it fails.

Read The Princess and the Pea

Once upon a time, there was a prince. He wanted to marry a princess, but she had to be a real princess.

So he traveled all over the world. He met many princesses. But something was always not quite right. Was she a real princess? He could never be sure. At last he came home, and he was very sad.

One evening, there was a terrible storm. Thunder boomed, and rain poured down. Then someone knocked at the city gate. Knock, knock, knock! The old king went to open it.

A girl stood outside in the rain. Water ran down her hair and her clothes. It ran into her shoes and out again. "I am a real princess," she said.

"We will soon see," thought the old queen. But she said nothing. She went to the bedroom and put one small pea on the bed. Then she put twenty mattresses on top of the pea. Then she put twenty soft quilts on top of the mattresses. That night, the princess slept on top of them all.

In the morning, they asked her, "How did you sleep?"

"Oh, very badly!" said the princess. "I hardly closed my eyes all night. There was something hard in my bed. Now I am black and blue all over!"

Then they knew she was a real princess. She felt one little pea through twenty mattresses and twenty quilts! Only a real princess could feel that.

So the prince married her. He was very happy, because he had a real princess at last. And the pea? It went into a museum. You can still see it there, if nobody has taken it.

And that is a true story.

The Chinese version: 豌豆公主

从前有一位王子，他想娶一位公主。可是，一定要是一位真正的公主才行。

王子出发了。他走遍了全世界，见过高高的公主、矮矮的公主，也见过爱笑的公主、爱唱歌的公主。可是每见完一位，他总觉得哪里有点儿不对劲。她到底是不是真正的公主呢？王子怎么也拿不准。最后，他只好一个人回了家，闷闷不乐的。

一天晚上，天气坏极了。天上轰隆隆地打雷，一道一道地闪电，大雨哗哗地往下倒，吓得谁也不敢出门。就在这时，城门外传来了“咚咚咚”的敲门声。这么大的雨，会是谁呢？老国王披上外衣，亲自去开门。

门外站着一个姑娘。哎呀，她被大雨淋得真狼狈！雨水顺着头发往下淌，顺着裙子往下淌，灌进鞋子里，又从鞋后跟咕嘟咕嘟地冒出来。她冻得直打哆嗦，看上去一点儿也不像公主。可是她说：“我是一位真正的公主。”

老王后心里想：“是真是假，我们很快就知道了。”可她只是笑了笑，一句话也没多说，先让姑娘换上干衣服，喝了一杯热茶。然后，她走进客房，把床上的东西全都搬开，在床板上放了一粒小小的豌豆。

接着，她在豌豆上面铺床垫。一床，两床，三床……一直铺了二十床。她又在床垫上面铺鸭绒被。一床，两床，三床……又铺了二十床。床变得高高的，快要碰到天花板了。公主爬了好半天，才爬到最上面躺下来。窗外的雨还在哗哗地下。

第二天早上，太阳出来了。国王、王后和王子都等在桌边，一见公主就问：“昨天晚上睡得好吗？”

“唉，别提了！”公主揉着眼睛说，“我翻来覆去，一晚上都没睡着。床底下好像有个硬疙瘩，硌得我浑身青一块紫一块的，难受死了！”

这下，大家全都明白了。隔着二十床床垫和二十床鸭绒被，她还能觉出底下一粒小小的豌豆，这么娇贵的人，一定是一位真正的公主。

王子高高兴兴地娶了她，因为他终于找到了真正的公主。王宫里热热闹闹地办了一场婚礼。那粒豌豆呢？被送进了王宫的博物馆。听说只要没被人偷偷拿走，它现在还躺在那里呢。

你看，这可是一个真实的故事哦。

The Princess and the Pea Story: the moral of the story

You can't judge someone by how they look: the girl dripping wet at the gate really was a princess. Andersen also tells it with a wink, since the royal test is a little silly.

Chinese words in The Princess and the Pea

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

豌豆wān dòu
pea
公主gōng zhǔ
princess
王子wáng zǐ
prince
王后wáng hòu
queen
打雷dǎ léi
to thunder
大雨dà yǔ
heavy rain
床垫chuáng diàn
mattress
鸭绒被yā róng bèi
down quilt

Bedtime storytelling tips

When the queen piles up the mattresses, count to twenty together on your fingers. The Chinese version counts them one by one, so you can count along in Chinese too.
Read the princess's complaint about her terrible night in a big, sulky voice. Most children laugh.
Children learning Chinese can listen for 豌豆 (wān dòu, pea) and 公主 (gōng zhǔ, princess) in the Chinese version.

Things to talk about afterwards

How did the queen test the princess?
Why couldn't the princess sleep all night?
If you were the prince, how would you find a real princess?

Read this story to your child in your own voice

Record your voice and confirm it's really you
Pick any story, in English or Chinese
A few minutes later, hear it in your voice; you can also download the MP3

From about $1.05 a story, or $1.99 for a first-order taster. Reading and listening are always free, and failed generations are refunded.

Read it in my voice See pricing

The Princess and the Pea Story: common questions

What is the moral of The Princess and the Pea?: Don't judge people by how they look: the girl soaked by the rain turns out to be a real princess. Andersen also tells it with gentle humor, since the royal test itself is a bit silly.
Who wrote The Princess and the Pea?: The Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. He published it in 1835 in his first collection of fairy tales, in the same small book as The Tinderbox. It is an Andersen tale, not a Grimm one.
How many mattresses are in The Princess and the Pea?: Twenty mattresses, with twenty soft quilts on top of them. The queen puts one small pea at the very bottom, and the princess still feels it.
How does The Princess and the Pea end?: The prince marries the princess, because he has found a real princess at last. The pea goes into a museum, where, the story says, you can still see it if nobody has taken it. It ends: "And that is a true story."
What does "princess and the pea" mean when people say it?: People sometimes use it as a joke for someone very sensitive, who is bothered by the smallest thing, like the princess who felt one pea through forty layers of bedding.

Source and how we retold it

By the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, Prindsessen paa Ærten, published in 1835 in his first collection of fairy tales and now in the public domain. Our retelling follows Andersen's plot and does not use any existing Chinese translation. The original is very short, and we added only a few small details: the many princesses the prince meets, and, in the Chinese text, the queen giving the girl dry clothes and hot tea and counting the mattresses one by one. The plot and ending are the same as Andersen's.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by 英伦绅士 and the Chinese by 温柔妈妈. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked The Princess and the Pea Story, there are more stories in Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.