The pea and the Princess

A PEA once loved the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. He even made sure to read at least one before falling asleep at night. He loved each and every one of them, yet, the one he admired most was “The Princess and the pea”, as he believed he was the pea of the fairy tale.

One day, he decided to find his Princess. He packed all his bags and left home for good, even promising to himself that he wouldn’t come back until he reached his goal. He travelled through trees and mountains, valleys and villages and cities that were distant, nowhere to find her, however.

In the end, he found himself at Disneyland in Paris, where he met all sorts of Princesses, all of them beautiful as if taken from some fairy tale, yet, when he asked them their story, none would tell him the story of his much - loved fairy tale. To make sure they were indeed not the Princess he was looking for, he even sneaked inside their bed sheets at night, just like the pea did in the fairy tale. Yet, none of them complained about their bed in the morning.

In the end, he decided to pack his things and leave for other countries. On his way, he found a Princess with hair as blonde as wheat in the summer, who advised him to visit Denmark, the country from which the renowned author, Hans Christian Andersen, came. Our good pea heard her advice and took the train. He searched in many cities and villages, even in medieval Castles, still unable to find his Princess, however.

The last city to visit was Odense, the birthplace of the famous writer. There, he got impressed by the many fairy tale sculptures, along with the beautiful alleys and streets. He asked each and every passer by whether they had seen his Princess, but they all laughed at his question, not even getting into the trouble of replying.

Until finally, just outside the house where Hans Christian Andersen lived, which is now a museum in Odense, an old lady told him to stop believing in fairy tales, as they are all lies.

He got really sad to hear it, as he loved them. He, then, sat on a bench just outside the museum of the great writer, and cried.

A cute little girl with blonde hair and skin as white as porcelain who had come to collect roses from the garden nearby then caught his attention. So pointy where the thorns of the rose she was collecting, however, that her fingers bled. The pea was enchanted by the romantic sight and her white skin, and brought his favorite fairy tale back to memory.

“Are you perhaps the Princess of my fairy tale?”, he asked her, and she got moved to hear it. So flattered was she by his words, that she lied to him about indeed being the one he was searching for all this time.

As for our good pea? Did he believe it? Truth be told, he didn’t. Yet, he never admitted it to her, as they both built a beautiful fairy tale together, and lived happily ever after.