PRINCESS AND A PEA

Hi! my name is Princess Adelien from the story Princess and a Pea.
I heard a news from a far away land, a prince is looking for a real
princess to marry and he's searching around the world just to look for
her.
One night, I was caught up in a big storm riding my horse going to the
Prince's kingdom to present myself as the real princess that he's
looking for. I was wet and shivering. I don't look like a real princess
after all when I presented myself to the King, Queen and to the Prince.
I was knocking to the gates of the kingdom and they opened the door
for me.
Please, may I stay here tonight? I said.
The queen wanted to test if I'm really a princess or not.
So, while the servants made the bed, the queen placed a tiny pea on it
and added many layers of mattresses and quilts on top. The princess
slept on this bed.
The next day, the queen asked if I slept well. I replied, The bed was
soft, but I could not sleep. I dont know what there was on it but my
back has turned all blue! Seeing how delicate I was, the queen
realised that I was indeed a real princess of delicate upbringing. The
prince was very pleased and married me and we lived happily ever
after.

Joseph the Dreamer

37 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived. 2 This
is the family history of Jacob:

Joseph was a young man, seventeen years old. He and his brothers,
the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his fathers wives, cared for the flocks.
Joseph gave his father bad reports about his brothers. 3 Since Joseph
was born when his father Israel[a] was old, Israel loved him more than
his other sons. He made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves. 4
When Josephs brothers saw that their father loved him more than he
loved them, they hated their brother and could not speak to him
politely.

5 One time Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it,
they hated him even more. 6 Joseph said, Listen to the dream I had. 7
We were in the field tying bundles of wheat together. My bundle stood
up, and your bundles of wheat gathered around it and bowed down to
it.

8 His brothers said, Do you really think you will be king over us? Do
you truly think you will rule over us? His brothers hated him even
more because of his dreams and what he had said.

9 Then Joseph had another dream, and he told his brothers about it
also. He said, Listen, I had another dream. I saw the sun, moon, and
eleven stars bowing down to me.

10 Joseph also told his father about this dream, but his father scolded
him, saying, What kind of dream is this? Do you really believe that
your mother, your brothers, and I will bow down to you? 11 Josephs
brothers were jealous of him, but his father thought about what all
these things could mean.

12 One day Josephs brothers went to Shechem to graze their fathers

flocks. 13 Israel said to Joseph, Go to Shechem where your brothers
are grazing the flocks.

Joseph answered, I will go.

14 His father said, Go and see if your brothers and the flocks are all
right. Then come back and tell me. So Josephs father sent him from
the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph came to Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering in the

field and asked him, What are you looking for?

16 Joseph answered, I am looking for my brothers. Can you tell me

where they are grazing the flocks?

17 The man said, They have already gone. I heard them say they
were going to Dothan. So Joseph went to look for his brothers and
found them in Dothan.

Joseph Sold into Slavery

18 Josephs brothers saw him coming from far away. Before he reached
them, they made a plan to kill him. 19 They said to each other, Here
comes that dreamer. 20 Lets kill him and throw his body into one of
the wells. We can tell our father that a wild animal killed him. Then we
will see what will become of his dreams.
21 But Reuben heard their plan and saved Joseph, saying, Lets not kill
him. 22 Dont spill any blood. Throw him into this well here in the
desert, but dont hurt him! Reuben planned to save Joseph later and
send him back to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers,
they pulled off his robe with long sleeves 24 and threw him into the
well. It was empty, and there was no water in it.
25 While Joseph was in the well, the brothers sat down to eat. When
they looked up, they saw a group of Ishmaelites traveling from Gilead
to Egypt. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh.
26 Then Judah said to his brothers, What will we gain if we kill our
brother and hide his death? 27 Lets sell him to these Ishmaelites. Then
we will not be guilty of killing our own brother. After all, he is our
brother, our own flesh and blood. And the other brothers agreed. 28
So when the Midianite traders came by, the brothers took Joseph out of
the well and sold him to the Ishmaelites for eight ounces of silver. And
the Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.
29 When Reuben came back to the well and Joseph was not there, he
tore his clothes to show he was upset. 30 Then he went back to his
brothers and said, The boy is not there! What shall I do? 31 The
brothers killed a goat and dipped Josephs robe in its blood. 32 Then
they brought the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, We found
this robe. Look it over carefully and see if it is your sons robe.

33 Jacob looked it over and said, It is my sons robe! Some savage

animal has eaten him. My son Joseph has been torn to pieces! 34
Then Jacob tore his clothes and put on rough cloth to show that he was
upset, and he continued to be sad about his son for a long time. 35 All
of his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he could not be
comforted. He said, I will be sad about my son until the day I die. So
Jacob cried for his son Joseph.
36 Meanwhile the Midianites who had bought Joseph had taken him to
Egypt. There they sold him to Potiphar, an officer to the king of Egypt
and captain of the palace guard.
Joseph was one of 12 sons born to Jacob. Joseph was Jacobs
favorite son. This favoritism led to his jealous brothers selling
Joseph into slavery. Josephs gift of interpreting dreams set in
motion an unlikely path for his life. He went from slave to
prisoner. And then he went from prisoner to governor of Egypt.
Although his brothers plotted to kill him, God had another
plan for his life.

Pied Piper
Once upon a time
on the banks of a great river in the north of Germany lay a
town called Hamelin. The citizens of Hamelin were honest folk
who lived contentedly in their Grey stone houses. The years
went by, and the town grew very rich.
Then one day, an extraordinary thing happened to disturb the
peace.

Hamelin had always had rats, and a lot too. But they had never
been a danger,
for the cats had always solved the rat problem in the usual
way- by killing them. All at once, however, the rats began to
multiply.
In the end, a black sea of rats swarmed over the whole town.
First, they attacked the barns and storehouses, then, for lack
of anything better, they gnawed the wood, cloth or anything at
all. The one thing they didnt eat was metal. The terrified
citizens flocked to plead with the town councilors to free them
from the plague of rats. But the council had, for a long time,
been sitting in the Mayors room, trying to think of a plan.
What we need is an army of cats!
But all the cats were dead.
Well put down poisoned food then . . .
But most of the food was already gone and even poison did not
stop the rats.
It just cant be done without help! said the Mayor sadly.
Just then, while the citizens milled around outside, there was a
loud knock at the door. Who can that be? the city fathers
wondered uneasily, mindful of the angry crowds. They gingerly
opened the
door. And to their surprise, there stood a tall thin man dressed
in brightly colored clothes, with a long feather in his hat, and
waving a gold pipe at them.
Ive freed other towns of beetles and bats, the stranger

announced, and for a thousand florins, Ill rid you of your

rats!
A thousand florins! exclaimed the Mayor. Well give you fifty
thousand if you succeed! At once the stranger hurried away,
saying:
Its late now, but at dawn tomorrow, there wont be a rat left
in Hamelin!
The sun was still below the horizon, when the sound of a pipe
wafted through the streets of Hamelin. The pied piper slowly
made his way through the houses and behind him flocked the
rats. Out they scampered from doors, windows and gutters,
rats of every size, all after the piper. And as he played, the
stranger marched down to the river and straight into the
water, up to his middle. Behind him swarmed the rats and
every one was drowned and swept away by the current.
By the time the sun was high in the sky, there was not a single
rat in the town. There was even greater delight at the
town hall, until the piper tried to claim his payment.
Fifty thousand florins? exclaimed the councilors,
Never
A thousand florins at least! cried the pied piper angrily. But
the Mayor broke in. The rats are all dead now and they can
never come back. So be grateful for fifty florins, or youll not
get even that . . .
His

eyes

flashing

with

rage,

threatening finger at the Mayor.

the

pied

piper

pointed

Youll bitterly regret ever breaking your promise, he said, and

vanished.A shiver of fear ran through the councilors, but the
Mayor

shrugged

and

said

excitedly:

Weve

saved

fifty

thousand florins!
That night, freed from the nightmare of the rats, the citizens
of Hamelin slept more soundly than ever. And when the
strange sound of piping wafted through the streets at dawn,
only the children heard it. Drawn as by magic, they hurried out
of their homes. Again, the pied piper paced through the town,
this time, it was children of all sizes that flocked at his
heels to the sound of his strange piping.
The long procession soon left the town and made its way
through the wood and across the forest till it reached the foot
of a huge mountain. When the piper came to the dark rock, he
played his pipe even louder still and a great door creaked
open. Beyond lay a cave. In trooped the children behind the
pied piper, and when the last child had gone into the darkness,
the door creaked shut.
A great landslide came down the mountain blocking the
entrance to the cave forever. Only one little lame boy escaped
this fate. It was he who told the
anxious

citizens,

searching

for

their

children,

what

had

happened. And no matter what people did, the mountain never

gave up its victims.
Many years were to pass before the merry voices of other
children would ring through the streets of Hamelin but the
memory of the harsh lesson lingered in everyones heart and
was passed down from father to son through the centuries.