The Princess and the Pea

By: Lauren Child

Captured By: Polly Borland

With this version of The Princess and the Pea, the king and queen came to their son and told him he had to marry a princess. The prince agreed but said she must be “more mesmerizing than the moon and I must find her more fascinating than all the stars in the sky. And there must be a certain... something about her.”  The queen and king then threw a Royal Ball where all the single princesses were invited but none were right. The prince then traveled to other kingdoms to find a princess but he still couldn’t find a princess. One night a princess arrived at their doorsteps drenching wet from the storm. The queen and king invited her in and allowed her to stay the night. The queen thought she was a princess so tested it by putting a pea under 12 mattresses. The next morning when the queen asked if she slept okay the princess responded she did – because princesses have manners. The queen being upset about thinking she was not a real princess, still invited her to breakfast. The prince saw the princess and thought that she was more mesmerizing than the moon and more fascinating than all the stars in the sky… and had certain something. Suddenly, the princess bent over to pick up a cup that the prince dropped and the queen observed that she struggled to do this. The princess then admitted that she did not sleep well last night and soon after, the prince and the princess were married.  

The Princess and the Pea

Adapted and Illustrated By: Alain Vaes

In this adaptation of “The Princess and the Pea”, the setting is placed in the land of Crestalia. There was an Upper Crestalia and a Lower Crestalia. In Upper Crestalia lived Prince Ralph with his father – King Adolph and his mother – Queen Frieda. One day Prince Ralph approached his mother and told her that he wanted to get married. Queen Frieda was not very fond about this idea – she didn’t want anyone to come and take her germs so, she told the prince that the princess must pass a series of test before they could get married. The first three princesses did not pass the test and the prince was very upset and went for a drive.  His car suddenly broke down but luckily the princess of Lower Crestalia, worked for a car pickup service, stopped and helped the prince. Prince Ralph thought the princess was beautiful and told her about his mother series of test before he could marry and took her to his home. Princess Opal passed the Queens two test – and then she passed her final test by being bothered by a pea under 20 mattresses. Knowing this the Prince and Princess was soon married – and the Queen was happy because Princess Opal brought her own set of gems.

The Princess and the Pea 

Retold By: Stephanie Peters

Illustrated By: M.A. Lamoreaux

In this humorous adaptation of “The Princess and the Pea”, the Queen and the King confronted their son and told him he had to marry a princess. The prince went searching all over the world for a true princess and quickly realized that they were hard to find. After having no luck, the prince returned home to rest. Suddenly, a princess arrived outside of their door. She was drenching wet from the storm and was invited inside their house. The prince thought she was beautiful and throughout the night realized that they had so much in common with each other. However, the queen doubted her being a real princess so she set a pea under forty mattresses to see if she would be bothered by it during the night.  The next morning the princess admitted that she did not sleep a wink last night. Suddenly after, the queen told her of her test! The prince then asked for her hand in marriage; since he knew that he had his mother approval, and then these “two peas in a pod” were married.

The Cowboy and the Black-Eyed Pea
By: Tony Johnston
Illustrated By: Warren Ludwig

In this adaptation of “The Princess and the Pea”, Farethee Well is looking to marry a real cowboy.  With her father’s passing he left his daughter, Farethee Well, with her a “fine herd of longhorns, a corral of horses, and the biggest spread in the great state of Texas.”  Like her father suspected, cowboys came from all over asking for her hand in marriage. Farethee Well knew she had to marry a real cowboy so devised a test to determine who was. She would put a black-eye pea beneath his saddle blanket and then send him out on the range. If the cowboy came back sore or bothered then she would know he was a real cowboy. After several failed attempts a man showed up outside of her door during a bad storm seeking shelter. After putting a black eyed pea under his saddle she sent him out to check on the longhorns – but, he kept coming back asking for more saddle blankets because he was not comfortable.  After a while, Farethee Well heard the thundering herd and joined the cowboy out there to help – then she realized he was a real cowboy because he was bothered by the small black-eyed pea! Farthee Well did not have to look anymore for a real cowboy to help her with her inherited fortune because the real cowboy and her got married soon after that stormy night. 

Classroom Application for the above 4 books: These adaptation to the book, The Princess and the Pea, was very insightful. Teachers should allow all students to examine all of these books and then be able to realize what makes a fairy tale - a fairy tale? What are these characteristics? Through the online resource, Animoto, students can type of elements they see similar or different in the four book as well as fairy tale aspects!  (The link below is an example of the online resource. )