The Princess and the Pea

The Princess and the Pea is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young woman whose royal identity is established by a test of her sensitivity. The tale was first published with three others by Andersen in an inexpensive booklet on 8 May 1835 in Copenhagen by C. A. Reitzel.

Andersen had heard the story as a child, and it likely has its source in folk material, possibly originating from Sweden, as it is unknown in the Danish oral tradition. Neither The Princess and the Pea nor Andersen's other tales of 1835 were well received by Danish critics, who disliked their casual, chatty style and their lack of morals.

In 1959 The Princess and the Pea was adapted to the musical stage in a production called Once Upon a Mattress starring Carol Burnett.