A prince is desperate to marry a real princess and one night a lovely lady appear in rags at the castle door soaking wet from the rain-storm. The king invites the lady in and asks her who she is - she tells him she is a princess - the king asks "a real princess?, to which the lady replies yes!
The king, who does not quite believe the lady's story, shows her to the bedroom where she is to sleep on twenty mattresses - in the morning he asks the lady if she had slept well but the lady complains of being black and blue and insists that something must have been under one of the mattresses - as soon as the king hears this he realises that she is a real princess and invites her to marry his son.
Opening
text
Once upon a time, there was a prince. When he grew up he wanted to marry a princess. But he wanted her to be a real princess.
Characters
and Keywords
prince - princess - old king - old queen - pea - twenty mattresses - bed
First
edition
issue points for collectors
Hardback book issued without dust-wrapper. Matt pictorial boards. Original price 2'6 Net.
