Many Moons Ago Lyrics – Once Upon A Mattress Cast

Many Moons Ago Text

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Many moons ago
In a far off place
Lived a handsome prince
With a gloomy face
For he did not have a bride.
Oh, he sighed “alas,” and he cried, “alas,”
For alas, the prince couldn’t find a lass
Who would suit his mother’s pride
For a princess is a delicate thing
Delicate and dainty as a dragonfly’s wing
You can recognize a lady by her elegant air
But a genuine princess
Is exceedingly rare

On a stormy night
To the castle door
Came the lass the prince
Had been waiting for
“I’m a princess lost,” quoth she.
But the queen was cool, and remained aloof
“Well, perhaps,” she said,
But we’ll need some proof.
I’ll devise a test and see.”
“I will test her thus,” the old queen said,
“I’ll put twenty downy mattresses upon her bed,
And beneath those twenty mattresses
I’ll place one tiny pea.
If that pea disturbs her slumber,
Then a true princess is she.”

Now the bed was soft
And extremely tall,
But the dainty lass
Didn’t sleep at all,
And she told them so next day.
Said the queen, “My dear,
If you felt that pea,
Then we’ve ample proof
Of your royalty.
Let the wedding music play.”
(And the people shouted quietly, “Hurray!”

For a princess is a delicate thing,
Delicate and dainty as a dragonfly’s wing
You can recognize a lady
By her elegant air
But a genuine princess
Is exceedingly rare.

[Thanks to jnye@mc.net for lyrics]