“The Princess and the Pea”

Cultural  

1. A story by Hans Christian Andersen. A prince insists on marrying a real princess. When a woman comes to his door maintaining that she is a real princess, the prince's mother tests her by burying a pea under a huge stack of mattresses and then ordering the woman to sleep on the mattresses. The woman cannot sleep and therefore passes the test: being a true princess, she is so delicate that the pea keeps her awake.

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Example Sentences

“I warn you, sir, I can be a stickler when it comes to my accommodations. I imagine you know the story of the princess and the pea?”

From Literature

“I hope our cots do not keep you up all night, as in the story of the princess and the pea.”

From Literature

The book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller, which infuses vaudevillian mirth into “The Princess and the Pea,” has been updated by Amy Sherman-Palladino to be more in keeping with contemporary sensitivities.

From Los Angeles Times

Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Gilmore Girls,” has given a much-needed update to this tale inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea.”

From Los Angeles Times

The Tony-winning actor was leading a new production of “Once Upon a Mattress,” a musical take on “The Princess and the Pea” that in previous incarnations starred Carol Burnett and Sarah Jessica Parker.

From Los Angeles Times