Prevod

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess, but she had to be a real princess. So he travelled all over the world to find one, but everywhere there was something wrong. There were plenty of princesses, but he could never quite be sure whether they were real princesses; there was always something that was not quite right. So he came home again, feeling very sad, for he longed so much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm broke out. There was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down—it was quite dreadful! Then there came a knock at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

A princess was standing outside. But goodness, what a sight she was after the rain and the terrible weather! Water streamed down her hair and clothes, and it ran in at the toes of her shoes and out at the heels. Yet she said she was a real princess.

"Well, we shall soon find that out!" thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bedchamber, took off all the bedding, and laid a pea on the bottom of the bed. Then she took twenty mattresses and piled them on top of the pea, and on top of the mattresses she put another twenty eiderdown quilts.

That was where the princess was to sleep that night. In the morning they asked her how she had slept. "Oh, dreadfully badly!" said the princess. "I have scarcely closed my eyes all night! Heaven knows what was in the bed! I was lying on something hard, and now I am black and blue all over! It is quite dreadful!"

Then they could see that she was a real princess, since she had felt the pea through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eiderdown quilts. No one but a real princess could have such tender skin.

So the prince married her, for now he knew he had a real princess, and the pea was put in the royal cabinet of curiosities, where it may still be seen, unless someone has taken it.

Now that was a real story!