Reading Diary A: Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

Th• Princess and the Pea, by Dulac

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   The first tale told is the Princess and the Pee, which is about a prince that searches for a real princess. After searching for many months, far and wide, he isn't able to find one. But one stormy night, he takes in a girl who claims to be a real princess. The mother of the prince tests this by placing a pea under the girl's mattress as she sleeps. In the morning, the princess complains that she didn't sleep well at all. The prince reasons: if she was sensitive enough to sense the pea through the mattress, she must be a real princess.
   The next tale of the Emperor's New Suit, which is about a young emperor who thought so much of new clothes that he just spent all of his resources to get the best ones he could. One day, he encounters a duo of swindling merchants who claim their clothes are fabulous, but are invisible to all who are unworthy of the emperor's position, or otherwise stupid. The cloth makes its way to the emperor, who wears it foolishly, and is seen naked by all of his people.
   The story after that is the Wicked Prince, which is about a prince who wanted to greedily rule all things. Once he had ruled over all things in his continent, he claimed that he even wanted to rule over God. But as he set out to challenge God, the deity sent out a swarm of gnats. This tortured the prince, who ordered his men to cover him in wrappings. They did, but one gnat got in and continued to torment the prince. All of his men laughed at him and how he was conquered by a single gnat.

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