Princess Winnifred arrives dripping wet in the throne room of an ancient kingdom because, as she explains, "I swam the moat.:" She is there as a contender for the hand of Prince Dauntless the Drab, whose domineering mother, Queen of Agravain, has decreed that he will wed only a true princess of royal blood. Winnifred passes the test being unable to sleep on a pile of mattresses with a pea on the bottom.... though, as the finale reveals... her sleeplessness was really caused by a helpful Minstrel who had filled her bed with all sorts of uncomfortable objects.