This is a really strange little story which has always intrigued me; why, I'm not quite sure.
STORY
Late one night, in the middle of a bad storm, a young lady knocked at a castle door and asked for shelter.
She said she was a princess.
She was given a very soft bed for the night which had seven mattresses piled up upon each other.
In the morning she complained that she had had no sleep and was black and blue with bruises from the very uncomfortable bed.
The bed was examined and was found to have a pea underneath the bottom mattress. It was decided that the pea was the cause of all the trouble.
This was supposed to show that she was a true princess and she married the prince (there's always a handy one of those in a castle, isn't there) and they lived happily ever after.
MEANING
Only a true princess would have been so sensitive to a small pea under so many soft layers.
Although she sounds like a complete pain in the neck and could well turn into a shrew of a wife, let alone a Queen, in truth, genuine sensitivity is one of the most attractive aspects of a person. No-one really likes an insensitive person, as long as we're talking about sensitivity to others and the world in general and not just sensitivity to ones own wants and desires. The latter would indicate a spoilt brat, to be avoided at all costs.
DEEPER MEANING
A bad conscience is a stone in the shoe of our lives.
Have you ever noticed how you cannot walk even a short distance with the smallest stone in your shoe. You balance (precariously, in my case) on one leg, feeling very foolish and wondering who's watching you, remove and shake your shoe upside down only to see the smallest stone fall out and you think, I can't believe that little thing was causing me so much pain!
So it can, and maybe should, with conscience.
Whatever the awkwardness and embarrassment involved, it is ALWAYS worth removing that stone and shaking it out of our lives.
