A real princess is hard to find (JE # 15)

I've been hanging on to the Rachel Isadora version of Princess and the Pea ever since I saw the fairytale included in the Stinky Cheese Man collection. Adam hadn't ever been introduced to this tale, and I was curious to see how he responded to all the Stinky Cheese stories after reading first the "real" versions.

Unconnected to this--for the most part--we visited the library today and picked up The Tale of Despereaux, a book I hadn't realized until after we put it on hold is written by the same author who gives us Edward Tulane. At checkout the librarian reminded us, "There won't be any renewals on this book as the waiting list for it is a mile long!" Later I happened to read through the inside front cover description and saw: "This is the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse in love with music, stories and a princess named Pea." I knew then I had to read the Isadora book to him so I could get started with Despereaux. I am so curious to see his response to this princess's name. It's so funny how books come to us, what links one to another, and the connections between them that we do recall.

When I recall the story, I of course remember Hans Christian Andersen's Scandinavian locale, as opposed to this African one. But, really, is the earlier one any more "real" because it came first? Determining which one is more real perhaps is as difficult as finding a real princess. In this story, probably closer to any one most African parents might tell their children, the princess is bruised and made uncomfortable by a pea buried deep beneath dozens of mattresses and feather beds decorated by typically vibrant and expressive African colors and patterns. (Adam said they came from animals, such as the one that had spots like a cheetah, or another lines like a zebra.)

This comes, of course, after the prince had searched the world over for a true princess, someone so delicate, so sensitive. He meets many who claim to be princesses, but none seem quite right. Each one says "Hello" to him in a different tribal language, and Isadora provides the translations for us: "Selam" (Amharic), "Iska Waran" (Somali) and "Jambo, Habari" (Swahili). Interestingly, the author places the translations at the end of the book, a bit of an unfortunate choice in my opinion, but remedied by Adam's understanding of Swahili.

"Why, Adam, do you speak Swahili, dear boy? I say!"

"Nooooooo. I just remember it because Diego went to Africa once and they said it on that show."

And indeed it is so. Diego, animal rescuer cousin to Dora has travelled to Africa and the more I thought about it, the greater recall I had of the way they sang the words. Connections.

I've ordered another version from the library, but what occurred to me as I type is that for Adam, since this is his first exposure to the fairy tale, this may very well be the "real" story.