Once upon a time, in a land of tall castles and sparkling rivers, there was a kind princess named Princess Anya. Princess Anya loved soft things – soft blankets, soft pillows, and soft chairs. More than anything, she wished for the most perfectly soft and comfortable bed in the whole wide world to help her sleep soundly through the night.
Princess Anya traveled far and wide, visiting many castles and trying many beds. Oh, the beds were soft indeed! Some had fluffy feather mattresses piled high, and others had soft wool and silk covers. She would snuggle down and try to sleep, but something always felt just a little bit off. It wasn't quite right, and she would toss and turn just a tiny bit until morning.
One rainy evening, Princess Anya arrived at a special castle. The wise Queen of the castle wanted to help Princess Anya find her perfect bed. The Queen had a clever idea! She took a tiny, round, green pea, just one little pea, and placed it right in the middle of a bed frame. Then, she piled mattress after mattress on top of the pea. One mattress, two mattresses, five, ten, twenty mattresses! The pile was very, very high and looked incredibly soft.
When it was time for bed, Princess Anya climbed the little ladder up, up, up to the top of the enormous pile of mattresses. She snuggled down under the covers. It felt so wonderfully soft, like sleeping on a cloud made of cotton balls and wishes. But as she lay there, she felt a strange, tiny little bump right underneath her. It was so small, she could hardly feel it, but somehow, it felt like a little pebble disturbing all the softness.
Princess Anya tried to ignore it, but the tiny bump bothered her just a little. She wiggled and squirmed, trying to get comfortable, but the small hardness seemed to be right there. She didn't sleep very well because of the tiny bump under all those soft mattresses. When morning came, she told the Queen, "Oh, the bed was so very soft, but there was a tiny, hard bump under me! It kept me from sleeping soundly."
The Queen and everyone in the castle looked at each other and smiled. They knew then that Princess Anya was truly a real princess! Only a princess with a very sensitive feeling would notice a tiny pea under twenty soft mattresses. Her sensitivity, which she sometimes thought made it hard to find the right bed, was actually a special gift that showed everyone exactly who she was.
Because Princess Anya felt the pea, she found her true home and the perfect place where she belonged. The castle became her happy place, and she slept soundly in a comfortable bed every night from then on, knowing that being sensitive helped her find just the right spot in the world, and that was a wonderful thing.