Plain Princess cover

Plain Princess

by Phyllis McGinley

The King and Queen plan a birthday party for their daughter Esmeralda, showering her with gifts and toys, ordering a feast with entertainment, and inviting a neighboring Prince to play with her. But the Princess is in a sulky mood, and throwing one of her royal tantrums, she goads the usually well-mannered Prince into declaring what no one has ever dared to admit that she is a plain Princess. Faced at last with the truth, the Princess falls into a genuine decline, and her parents offer a great reward to anyone who can make her beautiful. All the wise men try, without success. Finally, the royal dustwoman, Dame Goodwit, offers to make the Princess beautiful in three months if the Princess will come and live in her cottage with her three daughters. The changes that take place are only natural ones; but when the Princess learns to do a truly unselfish thing, her mouth turns up, her nose turns down, and her eyes sparkle like the candles on a birthday cake.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?