The princess and the pea
Notes
The princess and the pea (Prinsessen på ærten), by Hans Christian Andersen (1835).
Translation by Chaered, first posted on VL, on 2025-01-18. Reviewed by VL users; see https://discord.com/channels/397489292185960468/1330057478276386937.
English translation by H.P. Paull (1872), retrieved via http://www.mythfolklore.net/3043mythfolklore/reading/andersen/pages/01.htm on 2025-01-17, also at http://hca.gilead.org.il/. Danish original retrieved from https://tekster.kb.dk/text/adl-texts-hcaeventyr01val-shoot-workid61051 on same date.
Original Danish text is public domain. English translation is public domain, but rendered on page of first link under BY-NC-SA 2.0 license. Translation provided here by Chaered under CC-BY-SA 4.0 license.
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Alternative versions: Danish.
| No. | Quenya | Tengwar | Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andanéya engë cundo ye mernë vesta aranel, mal maunë hyen ná anwa aranel. | | Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real princess. |
| 2 | Lelendes quanna ambaressë na tuvë sítë, mal allassë túves ya mernes. | | He traveled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. |
| 3 | Enger linë aranéli, mal ecceþië quima náner anwar nánë urucarin. | | There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. |
| 4 | Illumë uma tessë lánes yallë möa ná. | | There was always something about them that was not as it should be. |
| 5 | San entulles mar ar nánes naireä, pan lai yestanes ná ó anwa aranel. | | So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess. |
| 6 | |||
| 7 | Andúnessë aica raumo untanë; enger hundo ar menel-íta, ullë tal, nánë amarúcima! | ; | One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. |
| 8 | Tá hlasser tambië i ostova andondessë, ar i enwina aran mennë na apanta sa. | | Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it. |
| 9 | |||
| 10 | Engë aranel tarila tassë pono i andon. | | It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. |
| 11 | Mal, ela! taitë nemesta ya ulo ar vaiwë acáriër sé nemë. | | But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. |
| 12 | I nén sirinyë undu findesseryallo ar hamperyallo; sirinyes mina tillë hyapatyatwa ar en et rastulcettallo. | ; | The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. |
| 13 | Ananta quentes i nás anwa aranel. | | And yet she said that she was a real princess. |
| 14 | |||
| 15 | “Mára, rongo túvalmë sa” sannë enwina tári. | | "Well, we'll soon find that out," thought the old queen. |
| 16 | Mal quentes munta, mennes caimaþambenna, lempes ilya caima-lannë caima-talamello, ar sestanes erdevainë talda; en hostanes mustalami yuquain ar sestanesset to i erdevainë, ar an quá-finië töaller yuquain orwa to i mustalami. | ; | But she said nothing, went into the bedroom, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses. |
| 17 | |||
| 18 | Sassë orwa maunë aranélen caita ter quanna lómë. | | On this the princess had to lie all night. |
| 19 | Amauressë, maquenter sen yallë olóriës. | | In the morning she was asked how she had slept. |
| 20 | |||
| 21 | “A, arihraia!” eques. | | "Oh, very badly!" said she. |
| 22 | “Hraia ohóliën hendinyat quanna lómessë. Rië Manwë ista ya engë i caimassë, mal caiteánen sarda natessë, etta nanyë saqua ildomë hröanyassë. Nás naira!” | | "I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!" |
| 23 | |||
| 24 | Sí sinteltë i issë anwa aranel, pan i erdevainë perestaniénë se ter mustalami yuquain ar quá-finië töaller yuquain. | | Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds. |
| 25 | Alquenen ecë ná tandë cityaleä, hequa anwa aranélen. | | Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that. |
| 26 | |||
| 27 | Etta i cundo vestanë hye, pan sí sintes i nánes ó anwa aranel; ar sestaner i erdevainë vanwiëmardenna, yassë tensi ecë mon cenitas, qui alquen ipílië sa. | ; | So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it. |
| 28 | |||
| 29 | Mai, tama ná naitë nyarna. | | There, that is a true story. |
Extra
Neologisms:
caima-lanni (n.)(pl.) "bedding" < caima "bed" + lanne "cloth"
caima-talan (n.) "bedstead" < caima + talan/talam- "platform"
quá-finea toalle (n.) "(eider)-down bed" < quá "duck" + finea "downy" + toalle "blanket"
The Danish original text (in original spelling): "Prindsessen paa Ærten".