The Princess Test: Princess Tales

The Princess Test (Princess Tales) (Princess Tales)
by Gail Carson Levine Edition: Hardcover
Available on Amazon.com

A Real Princess? August 8, 2008

The Princess Test By Gail Carson Levine

Lorelei is very spoiled by her parents. She is allergic to nearly everything so her diet is very plain. Her mother dies and her father continues to spoil his daughter. In order to work as a blacksmith, he hires a housekeeper to look after Lorelei. Whenever Trudy, the housekeeper tries to get Lorelei to do anything for herself, she gets hurt, breaks out in rash or makes a mess of things. The only thing Lorelei is good at is embroidery.

One day while embroidering, Lorelei meets a prince who is wandering in the woods. He is nice, but not terribly handsome. Lorelei isn't terribly beautiful, but other than a nose that is nearly too big, she looks okay. When the prince is told he must marry, he thinks of Lorelei. She won't do, however, because she is not a princess.

The king and queen devise a princess test. In order to marry the prince, a princess must pass this test. In a salad, the princess must detect a tiny piece of noodle. In a bouquet, she must notice a sprig of parsley, and in a piece of cloth, she must spot a missing thread. The king and queen thought up many more tests, the final test being the familiar pea in the mattress test.

Trudy, the housekeeper is resentful of Lorelei. She plots to kill the daughter of the blacksmith. Finally, she decides that Lorelei will do herself in. She leaves her with the spinning wheel, knowing that she will get hurt, but instead of pricking herself and bleeding to death, she makes a tangled mess. Trudy decides to take Lorelei into the woods for a picnic. When Lorelei is eating her lunch, Trudy takes the mule and leaves Lorelei alone.

While wandering the woods, Lorelei finds the castle in the middle of the night. She is cold, dirty and wet, and has no idea about the princess test. After testing around eighty prospective brides for Prince Nicholas, the king and queen think that Lorelei is a princess who has come to take the test. Prince Nicholas is so pleased to see Lorelei; he wants to give her clues to help her win his hand.

Children and adults will love the princess test. This is a small pink book with black and white illustrations. The princess test is a quick read and a fun fairy tale, by the author of Ella Enchanted.

Jill Ammon Vanderwood author:Through the Rug Through The Rug: Follow That Dog (Through the Rug)