Princess Poppy lived in a beautiful castle, but she was a very fussy princess. She didn’t like her breakfast if it wasn’t *just* right, her dresses if they weren’t *just* sparkly enough, and especially her bed if it wasn’t *just* soft enough. Her royal parents tried everything! Featherbeds, silk sheets, cloud fluff… nothing ever seemed to please Princess Poppy.
One day, a traveling storyteller came to the castle. He told tales of brave knights and magical creatures, but Princess Poppy only complained about the hardness of the stool she was sitting on! The storyteller smiled kindly. “Perhaps, Princess,” he said, “the problem isn’t the stool, or the bed, but what’s *inside* your heart.”
The King and Queen were puzzled, but they decided to try an experiment. They had the royal cooks gather all sorts of soft things: downy feathers, fluffy cotton, even petals from the sweetest-smelling roses. They piled them high on Princess Poppy’s bed, making it taller than she was! But when she tried to sleep, she still frowned.
“It’s still not right!” she declared. “I can feel a tiny lump!” The storyteller gently asked, “Princess, have you ever thought about *who* might need a soft place to rest?” Poppy shook her head. She’d only ever thought about herself.
The storyteller led Poppy to the castle kitchens, where Old Man Tiber, the baker, was taking a short rest on a hard wooden bench. He looked tired after baking all day. Poppy, remembering her own complaints, felt a pang of sympathy. She quickly gathered some of the softest cotton from her enormous bed pile and made a little cushion for Old Man Tiber.
Old Man Tiber’s face lit up. “Oh, Princess, that’s so kind of you!” he said. “This is the most comfortable rest I’ve had all week!” As Poppy watched him smile, she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside – a feeling much softer and more comfortable than any featherbed.
She rushed back to her own bed, which now seemed… perfectly fine! She snuggled into the pillows, not noticing any lumps at all. She realized the storyteller was right. True comfort wasn’t about how soft things *were*, but about how kind her heart felt.
From that day on, Princess Poppy wasn’t a fussy princess anymore. She spent her days finding ways to make others comfortable, and she discovered that a kind heart made everything – even a slightly lumpy bed – feel perfectly cozy. And as she drifted off to sleep, she knew that the sweetest dreams come to those who are kind.