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Once upon a time, there was a royal family living in a castle. The Prince was old enough to take a wife, but he wouldn't get married until he met a real Princess.
"You've grown up, my son," said the Queen . "It's about time to find you a wife."
"All right!" said the Prince. "But I only marry the Princess.The real one!"
"Sure!" agreed both the Queen and the King.
So the Prince travelled all over the world to find such a lady .He met a lot of Princesses, but he couldn't be able to decide if they were real ones.
"There were always something wrong with those Princesses,"thought the Prince.
At last he had to go back to the castle. He was so upset that he locked himself in the room.
▲ royal [ˈrɔɪəl] adj. 王室的；皇家的
▲ castle [ˈkɑːsl] n. 城堡
● queen [kwiːn] n. 王后
● marry [ˈmærɪ] v. 与……结婚
● lady [ˈleɪdɪ] n. 女士
● lock [lɒk] v. 锁
"Dear Lord! I will never find a real Princess as my wife," cried the Prince.
One night a terrible storm arose. It thundered and lightened.The rain was pouring down. It was really scary! At this very moment, a knock came at the castle gate. The old King opened the gate and found a girl standing outside. Water ran from her hair down her clothes into her shoes. How terrible she looked! But she claimed to be a real Princess.
● storm [stɔːm] n. 暴风雨
▲ thunder [ˈθʌndə(r)] v. 打雷
● knock [nɒk] n. 敲门声
▲ claim [kleɪm] v. 声称；断言
"Poor little girl! Please come in and have some rest," cried the Queen. "My son! Come out and meet the Princess!"
Then the Prince came out of the room, and fell in love with the girl at the first sight.
"Mother, I'm not sure if she is a real Princess," said the Prince."What should I do?"
"Don't you worry," answered the Queen. "We will soon find out."
The Queen went into the bedroom, took everything off the bed, and placed only one pea on the bed. Then she took out twenty mattresses and put them on the pea.Then she piled twenty feather beds on the mattresses. The girl slept on the top of these things that night.
"How was your sleep last night?"asked the Queen the next morning.
"Oh! It's very uncomfortable!"she answered. "I couldn't sleep the whole night! God knows what was in my bed. I lay on something so hard that I'm black and blue all over."
▲ pea [piː] n. 豌豆
▲ mattress [ˈmætrəs] n. 床垫
▲ pile [paɪl] v. 堆放
▲ feather [ˈfeðə(r)] n. 羽毛
The whole royal family was thrilled.
"My Princess!" said the Prince excitedly. "Now I know you're the real Princess."
"How did you tell?" asked the Princess.
"You can feel one pea through twenty mattresses and twenty more feather beds," said the Prince. "Only the real Princess has such delicate skin. My dear, will you marry me?"
"Yes!" answered the Princess.
The royal family and the Princess lived happily ever after.
As for the pea, it was sent to the museum. You can still see it today if it isn't taken away.
Remember! This is a true story.
▲ delicate [ˈdelɪkət] adj. 脆弱的；精致的
1. The Prince wanted to marry a ___ princess.
A. beautiful
B. lovely
C. real
2. The Queen put___ mattresses on the pea.
A. ten
B. twenty
C. forty
3. Where was the pea in the end?
A. It was still on the bed.
B. It was sent to the museum.
C. It was thrown away.