Listen or read along. “The Princess and the Pea” is a free
classic fairy tale for ages 4–6, narrated aloud in about 3 minutes.
The full text is below, and the Sleepfox app reads it to your child with a
calm voice, a dimming screen and a gentle sleep timer.
Once upon a time, there lived a kind young prince.
He wanted to find a real princess to be his friend.
He traveled to many lands, meeting many nice people.
But he never felt quite sure who was a real princess.
One rainy evening, the prince came home feeling a little sad.
The rain pattered softly on the castle windows.
Everything felt cozy and warm inside.
Then came a gentle knock at the great wooden door.
The queen opened it and found a young woman standing there.
Her hair was damp from the rain.
Her dress was a bit wet too.
But her eyes were kind and her smile was gentle.
"I'm a princess," she said softly. "Might I rest here tonight?"
"Of course, dear," said the queen warmly.
The queen had a clever, gentle idea.
She went to the guest room and made up a very special bed.
First, she placed one tiny pea under the mattress.
Then she piled twenty soft mattresses on top…
And twenty fluffy feather quilts on top of those.
The bed looked like a cloud reaching toward the ceiling.
In the morning, the queen asked kindly, "How did you sleep, dear?"
The princess yawned softly.
"You were so kind to welcome me," she said.
"But I felt something small beneath me all night long."
The queen smiled a warm smile.
Only a real princess could feel something so tiny through so much softness.
The prince was so happy.
He had found a true friend at last.
And that night, the princess slept on a perfect bed…
With no peas anywhere…
Dreaming gentle dreams…
Safe and warm and loved…
Drifting softly into sleep.
Listen to it free in the app
Sleepfox narrates every story aloud, dims the screen, and fades out with a
gentle sleep timer. A brand-new story is added free every night.
Black Beauty
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Pinocchio
The Ebony Horse