I gave this Maileg princess and bed to Little McGifty last year and it has morphed, over 12 months, into all manner of things from a Princess bed to a rocket ship for Anna from Frozen.

I’m not sure why I’ve always liked the Princess & the Pea story. Maybe because the story seems to imply that the Princess has such a deep sense of who she is and what she knows that even a witchy Queen can’t scheme her.

So this is a post about the Maileg doll and bed, sold by one of my favorite boutiques, Kisan. But also I’m referring you to the story as illustrated by Lauren Child (brilliant, genius, author of Charlie and Lola.)

And, just for bonus, I totally suggest that you check out the Real Princess, a “mathemagical” tale, narrated by Juliet Stevenson who does stunning audio books. (Her reading of Persuasion is my favorite and my best.)  But Juliet also starred, with Alan Richman, in one of my favorite romantic comedies, Truly Madly Deeply. Click here for a brilliant story on The Guardian, about Juliet and the power of storytelling.

From Little McGifty to a timeless fairy tale to a Disney movie to a movie I saw long before I became Mama McGifty.

Sometimes — I would guess a lot of time — in the world of present giving, worlds collide :^)