The Princess and the Pin

The Princess Test

 That Friday evening, Sophina and her parents arrived at Zumaria Palace. She waited in the parlor with a princess in a pink gown. "Hello," she said.

"Good marrow," said the other princess.

"Princess Hildegard, I presume?" Sophina asked.

"Yes, I am," said Princess Hildegard. "And who are you?"

"Princess Sophina," Sophina said. "It's very nice to meet you."

"You too," said Hildegard. "So you're the princess of Corinthia."

"Yes, I am," said Sophina. "I'm more of a flying derby princess. Prince Hugo asked me to come in my flying derby uniform because I'm a world flying derby champion."

"That's very nice, Your Highness," said Hildegard haughtily.

Just then, the castle steward—Bertram—came and said, "Princesses, I present to you Prince Hugo." Prince Hugo came out and bowed before the two princesses. "It's very nice to meet you, princesses," he said. He saw Sophina and smiled.

"Princess Sophina, I presume?" Prince Hugo asked.

"That's me," said Sophina, curtseying.

"Shall we get started on our princess test?" asked his mother, Queen Aretha.

The princesses were ready for the test. There were two piles of 20 mattresses.

"We've placed a small object underneath the twenty mattresses, and whoever feels even a lump wins," said King Austin. "A true princess can feel what's under her mattress. Princess Hildegard will go first."

Hildegard got up on one pile of mattresses. "It doesn't feel like there's anything wrong with this," she said.

"Princess Sophina, you're next," said Bertram.

Sophina went up on the other pile, and she said painfully, "Oh, this is so uncomfortable."

"Well, girls, let's see what's under your mattresses," said Austin.

Each princess reached under a mattress and pulled out a ring.

"These things have been making the mattresses lumpy?" Sophina asked. "I suppose the littlest things can cause big problems."

"That's right, Sophina," said Bertram. Hildegard started to feel jealous of Sophina.

"Okay, let's move onto the second test: fan fluttering," said Austin.

The princesses were each given a paper fan. Sophina wasn't very sure about this because she usually doesn't like using fans, but she fluttered hers as gracefully as she could.

"Well, dear, what do you think?" Aretha asked.

"Hildegard's fan-fluttering is remarkable," said Austin.

"Well, Sophina's fan-fluttering may be a little slow, but it's still very graceful," said Prince Hugo.

"Well, I'm afraid it's not as graceful as Hildegard's fan-fluttering, my dear son," said Austin.

Hildegard was very happy to hear that.

"Okay, princesses, let's move onto the next test," said Austin.

A little later, the princesses were sitting at a table with identical gifts.

"A princess is always very polite and gracious," said Bertram. "You will each receive a gift from Prince Hugo."

Hildegard opened her gift first. "A book," she said. But when she read the title, she said, "Part of Your World? But this is an adventure novel. How could you give me such a dreadful book?"

Everybody was disgusted with how Hildegard had reacted.

Sophina opened her gift and saw that it was a book. She gasped in delight and said, "Part of Your World by Kerry Jackson Clark? She's my favorite adventure novelist! I've been wanting to get my hands on this book. Thank you, Prince Hugo!"

"My pleasure, Princess Sophina," said Prince Hugo with a smile.

Hildegard was feeling jealous of Prince Hugo's affection for Sophina. "Pardon me, everybody?" she spoke up. "I believe I misspoke when I referred to the book as dreadful. I meant to say delightful, and I thank you for your generosity."

Hildegard stood up and curtseyed.

"I must say that Sophina was very kind when she opened the gift," said Aretha. "But Hildegard curtseyed when she thanked Hugo. What do you think, Austin?"

"You're right, Aretha," said Austin. "Sophina was very polite, and she sounded more sincere and gracious."

Hildegard was feeling jealous of Sophina.

"Okay, princesses, it's getting a little late," said Austin. "Tomorrow before noon, we will have another test. In the meantime, you will both have a chance to interact with Prince Hugo tonight."