The princess and the pea

Once upon a time there was a prince. The Prince was unhappy because he wanted to marry a princess. But he wanted her to be a real princess.

One day the Prince set off to search the world for the real princess whom he could marry. He met many princesses. But there was always something that wasn’t quite right. They were either too tall, too small, too happy or too sad. Besides, he was never sure if they were real princesses.

Some months later the Prince returned home still without a princess, and very unhappy. Then one night there was a terrible storm: the rain poured, the wind blew, and thunder and lightning shook the royal castle. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. The old king took a candle and went to see who it could be. There standing outside in the pouring rain was a beautiful girl. She was so wet that water poured off her hair and clothes. Suddenly she spoke.

“I am a real princess”, she said.

The old king was intrigued. So he ushered her inside and called the queen and Prince to come and see. The Prince could not believe his ears when he heard her say “I am a real princess”. The old queen also heard it. And made up her mind to find out if this girl was indeed a real princess.

Once the girl was being b and dried and dressed in dry clothes the queen went to see about a bedroom for her. The queen had all the bed clothes taken off the bed. Then she placed a dried pea under the mattress. Twenty more mattresses were put on top followed by twenty soft sheets. At the end of all that the bed was so high that a tall ladder was needed to get in and out of it.

When the princess had eaten and warmed up the queen led her to bed and tucked her in. As the queen blew out the candles she thought to herself “Now we shall discover if you are a real princess or not”.

In the morning the queen went to wake the girl. However she was already awake. The queen said,

“How did you sleep, my dear? ”

“Not very well” replied the girl. “I do not know what was in the bed but it was something hard and now I ache all over”.

On hearing this the queen was overjoyed for she knew that only a real princess would have skin so sensitive to feel a pea through twenty mattresses and twenty soft sheets. She rushed to tell the Prince the good news. He was overjoyed to discover that he had at last found a real princess. The queen now removed the pea and many of the mattresses and sheets so that the princess would in future sleep well.

The Prince and his real princess were soon married and there was a great joy throughout the kingdom. As for the pea it was placed in a museum. It may still be there today unless someone has eaten it.

B. Listen to the following sentences. Write them down. Give possible synonyms of the prepositions “if” and “for”. Define the use of nuclear tones at the juncture of the principal and subordinate clauses. Give their tonograms.

a) Besides, he was never sure if they were real princesses.

b) And made up her mind to find out if this girl was indeed a real princes..

c) On hearing this the queen was overjoyed for she knew that only a real princess would have skin so sensitive to feel a pea through twenty mattresses and twenty soft sheets.

C. Readthe sentences below. Join them into a complex sentence using adequate prepositions.

a) The prince met many princesses. But he was unhappy. He wasn’t sure whether the girls he met were real princesses.

b)The queen had all the bed clothes taken off the bed. She wanted to place a dried pea under the mattress.

c) There was always something that wasn’t quite right. They were either too tall, too small, too happy or too sad.

d) The queen removed the pea and many of the mattresses and sheets. She wanted the princess to sleep well in future.

e) There was a great joy throughout the kingdom. The prince and his princess were soon married.

f) Then the queen placed a dried pea under the mattress. She wanted to know whether the girl was a real princess.

g) In the morning the queen went to wake the girl. But she was very surprised. The girl was already awake.

h) She didn’t sleep well at night. There was something hard under the mattresses and sheets.

D. Listen to the fairy tale. Write down the sentences containing word qualifiers specifying and intensifying the meanings of words attached to them. Describe the prosodic means of their realization. Find out other phonetic ways of intensifying the words meaning.

E. Write down your own fairy tale using the following words and word-combinations. Practise reading it. Record your reading.

A magician, a treasure house,