Twice upon a time, there lived a prince, but this was no ordinary prince. This prince was lonely and wanted a princess that he could play games and eat cookies with. But his princess had to be a real princess, not a fake one. So the prince traveled around the world to find his princess, but no princess wanted to play games with the prince. All the silly princesses wanted to do was clean their crowns and watch the knights practice their sword fighting. After meeting hundreds of princesses, the prince went home alone.

Then one day, someone rang the prince’s doorbell. His mother, the queen, hurried to get the door and when she opened it, she saw that it was a girl. A princess actually.

“Hi!” The princess said cheerfully, “I’m Princess Petunia. My family and I just moved in down the road. Momma said that I should probably come down and introduce myself.”

“Well,” the queen answered skeptically, “How can I know you’re a princess?” She asked and looked the girl up and down. “Why, you’re all wet! Princesses do not allow themselves to get wet, you know.”

“But, I’m only wet because I ran down the street to your house.” The princess smiled, “You see, momma doesn’t like it when I run in the castle. Running outside scares her because I could fall in the moat with all the alligators! So I never get to run! That’s why I’m covered will all this sweat!”

“Sweat?!” The queen yelled, appalled. “How dare you—“ and then the queen got a delightful idea. “Oh my dear, you poor thing, never getting to run in the castle or near the moat? Come in, dear. Come in.” The queen opened the door wide so that the princess could step in. “Here in our castle, we have a special room that I allow my son, the prince, to run, to play games, and to eat cookies in, would you care to join me?”

“Oh, very much, kind Queen,” the princess bowed and followed the queen to the playroom.

“Have fun, princess,” the queen smiled, “I’ll be back in an hour or so…” And with that the queen closed the door. Hmm, she thought to herself, how might I prove that she is a real princess? The queen very quietly opened a window to the play room and let a very, very tiny flea fly inside. Then the queen shut the window and waited. Surely, the queen thought, surely if the girl cannot play because of the flea, she is a true princess.

An hour or so later, the queen brought the prince with her to check on the princess in the play room. The queen opened the door and the prince gasped at the beautifully, perfect Princess Petunia. He wanted to ask her if she cared to play with him forever, but he just stood quietly, staring at her.

“Oh princess,” the queen tweeted, “how did you enjoy your playtime, dear?”

“Playtime?” The princess asked from her spot by the window, “I could hardly play with all the noise!” She pointed in the direction of the tiny flea perched on the window. The queen smiled and clapped her hands with glee!

“Prince!” She yelled delightedly turning to her son, “I have found a new playmate for you! This is Princess Petunia!” The prince and the princess bowed before each other under the queen’s watchful eye. They all smiled and the prince and princess played favorably together all the days of their lives. And they all lived happily, after everything.