There was once a prince who wished to marry a princess; but then she must be a real princess. He travelled all over the world in hopes of finding such a lady; but there was always something wrong. Princesses he found in plenty; but whether they were real princesses it was impossible for him to decide, for now one thing, now another, seemed to him not quite right about the ladies. At last he returned to his palace quite cast down, because he wished so much to have a real Princess for his wife.

   从前有一位王子，他想找一位公主结婚，但她必须是一位真正的公主。他走遍了全世界，想要寻到这样的一位公主。可是无论他到什么地方，他总是碰到一些障碍。公主倒有的是，不过他没有办法断定她们究竟是不是真正的公主，她们好象总是有些地方不大对头。结果，他只好回到自己的皇宫来，心中很不快活，因为他是那么渴望着得到一位真正的公主。

One evening a fearful tempest arose, it thundered and lightened, and the rain poured down from the sky in torrents¹: besides, it was as dark as pitch. All at once there was heard a violent knocking at the door, and the old King, the Prince's father, went out himself to open it.

It was a princess who was standing² outside the door. What with the rain and the wind, she was in a sad condition; the water trickled³ down from her hair, and her clothes clung⁴ to her body. She said she was a real princess.

   有一天晚上，忽然起了一阵可怕的暴风雨。天空中风驰电掣，大雨倾盆而降，四周一片漆黑。就在这时，响起了一阵剧烈的敲门声，老国王自己去开门。
　　  
    站在城外的是一位公主。可是，天哪！经过了风吹雨打之后，她的样子是多么难看啊！水沿着她的头发和向下面流，她的衣服粘在身上。她说她是真正的公主。

"Ah! we shall soon see that!" thought the old Queen-mother; however, she said not a word of what she was going to do; but went quietly into the bedroom, took all the bed-clothes off the bed, and put a little pea on the bedstead. She then laid twenty mattresses⁵ one upon another over the  pea, and put twenty feather beds over the mattresses.
Upon this bed the Princess was to pass the night.

   “是的，这点我们马上就可以考查出来。”老皇后心里想，可是她什么也没说。她静静地走进卧房，把所有的被褥都搬开，在床榻上放了一粒豌豆。然后她取出二十床垫子，把它们压在豌豆上。随后，她又在这些垫子上放了二十床鸭绒被。
　　  
    这位公主夜里就睡在这些东西上面。

The next morning she was asked how she had slept. "Oh, very badly indeed!" she replied. "I have scarcely closed my eyes the whole night through. I do not know what was in my bed, but I had something hard under me, and am all over black and blue. It has hurt me so much!"

Now it was plain that the lady must be a real Princess, since she had been able to feel the little pea through the twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. None but a real Princess could have had such a delicate sense of feeling.
　　
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, if no one has stolen it.　　

    第二天早晨大家问她昨晚睡得怎样。“啊，不舒服极了！”公主说，“我差不多整夜没合上眼！天晓得我床上有件什么东西？我睡到一块很硬的东西上面，弄得我全身发青发紫，这真怕人！”

    现在大家就看出来了。她是一位真正的公主，因为压在这二十床垫子和二十床鸭绒被下面的一粒豌豆，她居然还能感觉得出来。除了真正的公主以外，任何人都不会有这么嫩的皮肤的。
　　
    因此那位王子就选她为妻子了，因为现在他知道他得到了一位真正的公主。这粒豌豆因此也就被送进了博物馆，如果没有人把它拿走的话，人们现在还可以在那儿看到它呢。

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