Title: The Princess and the Pea
Author: Hans Christian Andersen
Illustrator: Edmund Dulac
Genre: Folktale

Summary
The “Princess and the Pea” is about a prince who wanted a princess, but she had to be a “real” Princess. He traveled around the world looking for one, but something always seemed wrong. He had a hard time determining whether they were real or not. Since he did not find a princess, he returned home. One night during a bad storm, the King heard a knock at the door. Standing there was a princess. She said she was a real princess, but her appearance seemed to tell another story. The King invited the princess in and told the Queen about her. The Queen decided to test whether this young lady was a real princess or not. She went into the bedroom, took all the bedding off and placed a pea in the very middle of the bottom mattress. Next, the Queen took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea. Lastly, the Queen laid twenty quilts on top of the mattresses. This was where the princess was to sleep that night. In the morning, the princess was asked how she slept, she responded by saying “Oh terribly badly” and told them that she had been lying on something hard that made her extremely uncomfortable. By this time, the Royal family knew she was a “real” princess because nobody but a real princess could be so sensitive. The prince took her for his wife and the pea was put in an Art Museum where it still remains today.

Classroom Connection
Folktales are very interesting and fun to use in the classroom. There are many different variations of each folktale, which makes it interesting to study. Students could choose three variations of the Princess and the Pea and make comparisons among the three texts. They could complete a chart to organize their thoughts. After students had enough time to complete the chart on their own, they could then share what they learned with others, which would lead to a productive group discussion.