The Princess and the Pea

A short fairy tale

Read more at http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fairytales/princess_and_the_pea.htm#gIO3UzDXsOOggzzj.99

Once upon a time there lived a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a 'real' princess. He traveled far and wide to find one but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were many princesses, but it was hard to decide how far 'real' they were. So he returned home sadly.

One evening a terrible storm rose along with thunder and lightning, and rain poured down heavily. Suddenly a knock was heard at the castle gate. On opening it was found that a princess was standing at the door. But, good gracious! what a sight the whether had done to her.

The water ran down from her hair and clothes; and she was in a very bad condition and "yetshe said that she was a real princess"?!, thought the queen.

We'll soon find that out," thought the old queen. But she said nothing. She went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses. 

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept. "Oh, very badly!" said she. "I hardly closed my eyes all night. God

only knows what was in the bed… I was lying on something hard. It was horrible!" 

Now they knew that she was a 'real' princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds. 

Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that. 

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a 'real' princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, provided no one has stolen it!

The short story of Kaguya Hime

One day an old bamboo cutter found a beautiful baby girl in a

bamboo plant. He took her home.

The next day he found many gold coins in a bamboo plant. He and

his wife took very good care of the baby girl. They called her Kaguya

Hime.

Kaguya Hime grew up to be a gorgeous young woman.

Many princes wanted to marry her but Kaguya Hime did not want to

marry anyone. So she gave them a very difficult task: bringing the

crystal stone from the Dragon’s chest.

The princes fought very hard with the dragon but they could not get

the crystal stone.

Kaguya Hime was not happy. She always looked at the full moon

and felt sad.

One day Kaguya Hime told the bamboo cutter that she actually

came from the moon and the moon people will soon come to pick

her up.

The bamboo cutter did not want Kaguya Hime to leave. He asked

samurais to protect her from the moon people.

On the night of the full moon, the moon people came. They took

Kaguya Hime back to the moon. The samurai could not do anything.

Kaguya Hime liked the bamboo cutter and the people from the world

so much. But Kaguya Hime belonged to the moon. She sometimes

comes back to the world when it is the full moon.

http://dinolingo.com/blog/2011/08/08/japanese-folktales-folklore-short-stories-for-kids-and-small-children-short-folktales/#.VZijXflsGko