The Princess and the Pea
(Illustration by Katie Flindall)
There once was a princess whose parents had died in a tragic
accident. She was left to be raised by her free-spirited grandmother. They
loved each other very much and shared everything with each other.
The princess gracefully reached adulthood. She was beautiful
and sought after by many. With the coming of adulthood, it soon meant that she was
to be married soon. She was very excited to find a suitor. Her grandmother set her up with men everyday.
She just couldn’t find the perfect man.
The princess was laying down one evening, still upset she
couldn’t find someone to love. That’s when she heard a voice outside her
window.
“Hello?” The princess called out. “Is anyone there?”
In popped a beautiful witch. The princess jumped back.
“I hear you’re in search of a man. I can help.”
“Who are you?”
“Oh forgive me. I’m Stella. The greatest witch in all of the
east.”
“How did you know where to find me?”
“I know everything, my dear. Now let me help you.”
“At what cost?” The princess asked hesitantly.
“I’m sure I’ll think of something! Now do you want to meet
the love of your life or not?”
“You know where he is?” The Princess asked excitedly.
“No. But! You can make him.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Here.” The witch handed her a pea.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Make a wish. Make sure you add every detail. Then you’ll
throw the pea on the ground and step on it.”
“But what if-“
POOF! The witch was gone.
The princess looked at the pea. She held it up and closed
her eyes.
“I wish for a man who is strong and wise. I wish for a man
who loves me. I wish for a man who will take care of me and fight for me. I
wish for a man who will love me.”
She stomped on the pea and waited. Nothing happened. The
princess assumed that the witch had tricked her and so the princess went to
bed.
When she woke the next morning she found her grandmother and
a man having breakfast. She sat down with them and the grandmother spoke of how
amazing this man was. The princess believed it was the man she wished for. He
was perfect.
She invited him on walk through the town with her.
As they walked and talked she knew they were meant to be.
Then suddenly, the man pulled his sword out on a villager.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
“You said you wanted someone to fight for you. Well, he was
looking at you funny.”
“Not literally!” The princess yelled and tried to pull the two men apart but it was too late. They were already going at it. They knocked down fruit stands, clothing shops, and anything in their path.
“Not literally!” The princess yelled and tried to pull the two men apart but it was too late. They were already going at it. They knocked down fruit stands, clothing shops, and anything in their path.
She ran back to her castle as fast as she could. She yelled
for the witch to reappear.
POOF. The witch was back.
“I’m not deaf. What do you want?”
“You have to take him back?”
“What? No. He is exactly what you asked for.” The witch said
annoyed.
“This is not what I asked for!”
“Is he not strong and wise? Is he not fighting for you? I told you to be specific.”
“Is he not strong and wise? Is he not fighting for you? I told you to be specific.”
“Please, undo this. I will do anything.” The princess
begged.
“You already owe me a favor, are you sure you want to make
that two?”
“Yes absolutely. Please!” The princess cried.
“Fine.” The witch snapped her fingers.
“Is that all?” The princess asked.
“Yes, now I have some things to do, but I’ll come back later
to collect my debt.”
The princess relieved that her “perfect” man was gone. She
realized that humans were flawed and she needed to see through those flaws and
really get to know people. She allowed her grandmother to set up more dates for
her and she was more compassionate and less judgmental this time.
The witch never returned, but the princess always wished she
had. She met a man and she wanted to tell the witch about him.
Author’s note: I chose Hans Christian Andersen’s “The
Princess and the Pea.” I changed this story entirely and just went with the
title. I figured a title that said “The Princess and the Pea” was extremely
vague if you’d never heard the original story before. The original story is
about a king and queen who put a pea under 20 mattresses in order to prove
whether or not a woman was actually a princess so she could marry their son. My
story obviously had a different vision on what to do with the pea. I hope you
liked it!
This was a pretty fun read. Although it has no relation to the original story, it reads like a traditional fairy tale. The witch seemed to me like a genie, granting the princess's wish but not to her own preferences. The way the man she wished for was overly eager to fight for the princess was funny. It's nice that the princess became less judgmental in the end, though I wish I could have seen the witch come back and say something before the story ended.
ReplyDeleteI'm really impressed with how you changed the story! I kept expecting the story to change to something like the original story but you kept it all the same! I love the way you incorporated the pea into the story. You also have a great lesson in the story in that everyone is flawed. Great job and I can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeletePaulina,
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a really great story idea. I had never read the original story, but I had heard of it before. From your author's note I could tell you changed it entirely. I liked how you added dialogue and that your story flows so well. You are an excellent writer. I didn't know what to expect with your story, but I liked how you took the title and changed things entirely. Overall, the moral was great in seeing that you don't get everything you wish for.