Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince who was in desperate need to marry a princess. His father, the king, was getting older and wanted his son to have an heir before he died. So, the prince traveled all over the world looking for a suitable bride.
There was only one problem: All the princesses in the kingdoms nearby were already married.
“Dear son, if a princess can’t be found, why not settle for a nice duchess or a countess?” the queen asked the prince.
“No, she must be a princess—a real princess,” the prince insisted. “Father wants to leave a true royal bloodline behind when he dies. It’s the only way to make him happy.”
Eager to please his father, the prince continued his exhaustive search. He traveled to kingdoms farther away than any prince of his kingdom had traveled before. Unfortunately, he always returned to the castle empty-handed.
“I don’t think I’ll ever find a real princess to wed,” the prince said. “Father will die thinking I’m a failure.”
“Don’t worry, my son,” the queen said. “We will find you a princess, I promise. You must be patient.”
As luck would have it, rumors started circulating through the kingdom that a princess from a faraway land was missing. The queen kept the castle on high alert to look out for such a person, hoping the missing princess would be the key to her husband’s and son’s happiness.
As time went on, the old king became very ill. Fearing his father was in his final days, the prince lost all hope that he would find a princess to marry in time.
“I have no choice but to marry a duchess,” the prince told his mother. “I’ll meet with the ladies of court tomorrow and select a bride.”
Naturally, the prince was devastated, but the queen wasn’t ready to give up.
That night, the kingdom experienced the strongest rainstorm it had endured in decades. There was a soft knock on the castle door, and a servant answered it. The caller was a beautiful young maiden who was soaked to the bone and shivering in the cold.
“Please, may I be given shelter for the night?” the maiden asked. “I’ve been walking for days and have nowhere to hide from this nasty storm.”
The servant took pity on the young woman. “Of course, my dear,” he said. “Please come inside where it’s dry.”
“Thank you! I shall never forget this generosity,” the maiden said.
The servant took the maiden into the kitchen and sat her by the fire to keep warm.
“Where are you from, ma’am?” he asked.
“I wish I knew,” she said. “I’m afraid I’ve lost my memory. I’ve been traveling from kingdom to kingdom hoping to find something familiar, but so far I’ve found nothing.”
The servant’s heart began to flutter. Could this maiden be the missing princess? He informed the queen of the visitor at once.
“Interesting,” the queen said. “She might be the missing princess, but with no memory, there’s no way to be certain.”
The queen thought for a moment and came up with a plan.
“I know what to do,” she said. “We’ll offer her a bed for the night with twelve mattresses stacked on top of one another and place a pea under the bottom mattress. If the maiden has trouble sleeping, we’ll know she’s indeed the missing princess. Only a true princess could feel a small pea under a dozen mattresses!”
The servant did just as the queen said. He made a bed with twelve mattresses and offered it to the maiden.
“What a strange bed,” the maiden said. “But I am so tired, I’ll take anything I can get.”
The servant fetched the maiden a ladder so she could climb to the top of the highest mattress. He blew out the candles in her chambers and left her alone to sleep.