The princess and her pea

Once upon a time there was a princess. She loved to dance. She loved to sing. She loved to paint. But she did not always like to eat. She liked carrots and bread and pasta and yogurt, so she ate those. But she did not like meat or tomatoes or melted cheese, so she didn't eat those. She wouldn't even taste it. Not even a little bite. And usually, that was okay.

One night at dinner, the princess and her family were talking about being polite. "When you grow up, you will learn that sometimes it is polite to take a bite of something when someone else has made it for you, even if you don't like it," said her Mama. "You don't have to like it, and you don't have to eat it all; but it's polite to take a bite. So tonight, we would like you to be polite and take a bite of your peas."

"But I don't like them anymore!" said the princess.

"I know, but that doesn't matter. It's polite to take a bite anyway" said her Daddy.

"But I don't want to. I don't like them," said the princess.

"Then you will need to sit at the table until you can be polite and eat a pea, please." said her Mama.

The princess sat. And sat. And sat and sat and sat and sat. But she did not eat her pea.

Her mommy and daddy cleared away the food. They gave her baby brother a bath. They played in the living room. And still, the princess sat at the table and did not eat her pea.

"I don't like peas anymore" she said.

"That's a pity," said her Mama. "We would so like you to come and play with us. When you can be polite and eat your pea, you may come and play."

The princess thought about it. She looked at the pea. The pea looked back at her. "But I don't like them anymore" she said. And she sat.

Much later, it was bed time. The princess was sad to have missed out on playing with her family. "But at least I didn't have to eat the pea," she thought, as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the princess woke up happy and giggling, just as she did every day. She hugged her Mom and Dad, as she did every day. And she ran to the breakfast table to get her cereal, as she did every day.

And just as they did every day, her parents had put out her cereal and orange juice. But when she looked down, she could hardly believe it! There it was again! The pea!!!

"We still want you to learn to be polite and take a bite of something when it has been made for you," her parents said. "You may eat your breakfast as soon as you have eaten your pea."

The princess looked at her breakfast. And looked at the pea.

And then she began to cry. She cried and cried and cried and cried.

"I'm hungry!" she cried.

"I don't like peas!" she cried.

"I want breakfast, please!" she cried.

But her parents just looked at her. Her Mama said, "I'm sorry you're hungry and frustrated, my princess, but you have a choice to make. You may choose to eat the pea and then have your breakfast so you're not hungry anymore, or you may choose to refuse the pea and stay hungry."

The princess thought about it for a minute. "I'm tired," she said. And with that, she got up and went back to her bedroom.

At snack time, the princess came out and declared, "I'm hungry!" Just as they did every day, her parents had put out her snack at the table. The princess looked at her placemat, and could hardly believe it. Next to her breakfast was her snack, and next to her snack was the pea!

She began to cry again. She cried and cried and cried.

"I'm hungry!" she cried.

"I don't like peas!" she cried.

"I want my snack!" she cried.

"My tummy hurts!" she cried.

But her parents just looked at her. "Your body hurts because it's hungry, my princess," she said. "That's your body's way of telling you you need to eat. I hope you will choose to feed your body so that you feel better."

The princess thought about it. "I'm tired!" she wailed. And with that, she got up and went back to take a nap.

At lunch time, the princess came out and said, "My body hurts! I'm hungry!" And just as they did every day, her parents had put our her lunch at the table. The princess looked at the table, and could hardly believe it. Tears filled her eyes as she saw her breakfast, her snack and her lunch all on the table... and in front of them, the pea!!

"I DON'T LIKE PEAS ANYMORE!!!!!" she wailed.

"I'm so sorry you're sad," said her Mama. "As soon as you choose to be polite and eat your pea, you will be able to eat your lunch and you will feel strong and happy again."

But the princess felt awful, and tired, and sad. She cried and cried and cried. She cried so much she even made herself a little sick. Her mama held her on her lap as the princess cried and thought about it. She did not want to be polite, and she did not want to eat a pea.

"I'm not hungry any more" she said. She climbed out of her Mama's lap and left the table.

All afternoon, the princess moped about the house. She felt so very tired, and so very sad. Her toys were not as fun as they usually were. She didn't feel like dancing as she usually did. She didn't even want to laugh with her brother as she usually did.

At dinner time, the princess was excited to see they had friends coming for dinner... friends who had brought ice-cream and cookies for dessert! "We made these with you in mind," they said. "We really hope you will choose to be polite and eat your pea so we can all enjoy dinner and dessert together tonight!"

The princess thought about it. She sat down at the table and saw her breakfast, her snack, her lunch, and her dinner at the table. And there, in front of them, was the pea.

"Would you prefer a frozen pea?" her Daddy asked.

The princess thougth about it. She thought about how yucky she had felt. She thought about how sad she had been. She thought about how much she wanted to enjoy dinner with her family and friends. And so she ran to her Daddy and chomped that pea right up.

The princess laughed and laughed! She had conquered the pea! She sat down at the table and ate all her breakfast. Then she ate all her snack. Then she ate all her lunch. Then she ate some of her dinner. And finally, she got to eat some ice-cream and a cookie too. The princess felt better than she had all day: her body felt strong and her heart felt happy. She was so glad she had chosen to be polite and eat the pea.

That night, she snuggled with her Daddy before bed time.

"I love you, my princess," he said.

"I love you too, Daddy," she said. "And I love frozen peas."

Her Daddy didn't say anything. He just smiled, so proud to be the daddy of a pea-eating princess who had learned a little more about being polite.

The end.