[su_dropcap style=”simple”]T[/su_dropcap]he story tells of a prince who wants to marry a princess, but is having difficulty finding a suitable wife. Â One stormy night a young woman drenched with rain seeks shelter in the prince’s castle. She claims to be a princess, so the prince’s mother decides to test their unexpected guest by placing a pea in the bed she is offered for the night. Â She covers the bed in 20 mattresses and 20 feather-beds. In the morning she asks the princess how she slept.
The guest tells her hosts that she endured a sleepless night, kept awake by something hard in the bed that she is certain has bruised her. The prince rejoices. Only a real princess would have the sensitivity to feel a pea through such a quantity of bedding, so the two are married.
For decades I have related to the story of the Princess and the Pea. Â As a child I was always tossing and turning in bed at night uncomfortable. Â The bobbles that hold together the mattress can leave me bruised in the morning and I have lost count of the amount of times that I have made my husband get out of bed and smooth down the bed sheet as I can feel every little crease.
Now, I have my own princess who feels every bump in her bed and is finding parallels with this story and her own life. Â When she had to complete a book review for homework this week on her favourite traditional tale she immediately chose this story.
“Once upon a time a prince lived with his mum the queen in a castle. A princess knocked on the door looking for a place to stay. Â The queen didn’t believe she was a real princess so she put her to the test.
The queen place a pea under 20 mattresses. Â In the morning she asked the princess how she had slept. Â ‘Terrible, uncomfortable and bumpy.’ She said.
Because the princess felt the pea the Queen believed that she was a real princess. So they were married.
This is my favourite story because I can relate to how the princess felt in the morning because I feel like that all the time. Â The Princess is my favourite character because I can relate to her. Â The princess is Pretty, awesome and beautiful.” Â by Rubie aged 7
People with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome often relate to this story.  We feel everything.  The slightest touch can sometimes hurt.  Our bodies can feel like one big bruise.  In May for awareness month two of my children presented a school assembly about hEDS and HSD’s and acted out the story of the Princess and the Pea to highlight this to their audience. (The video should start at the beginning of the story, if not you will find it at the 4min 38sec mark but feel free to watch the whole presentation.)  I’m sure that many other people with different chronic conditions, like fibromyalgia for example, will ‘get’ this analogy too.
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4 Comments
Sarah, this is wonderful! Please tell Princess Rubie that I have shared a link to her story and one of her pictures on PainPals because it is so good, Claire x
Claire, thank you so much. I will pass on your message to Rubie as soon as she is home from school. She will be very impressed 🙂 Love as always Sx
I thought about this story when I got diagnosed a few years ago with fibromyalgia. Watching tv on a slight angle hurts my neck, leaning against a strap or bump hurts my back, and rough fabric is uncomfortable against my skin. I think it’s a great tool for explaining chronic illness to kids in a fun way!
I know it’s the worst isn’t it!! my daughter gets bruises just wearing her shoes!! I think that the kids (and teachers) really did understand how it actually feels after they watched the kids little play. It’s hard to put yourself in someone elses shoes sometimes, a little visualisation always helps 😉 Take care Sx