A princess and a peasant girl swap places. The princess is lonely, and hates being made to embroider (she embroiders tiny frogs and snakes in a corner of the canvas) or to dress up and go and see the countess with her mother. The peasant girl comes from a large noisy family and rarely gets any attention or nice clothes. They meet and swap places. The peasant girl can embroider beautifully and asks if she may have a new dress and visit the countess much to her unknowing mother’s delight. The princess loves having dirt between her bare feet, finding frogs and sitting up to the table with a noisy family.
They end up staying in their new roles.
This book was probably produced around the 1989-1990.
It had beautiful whimsical illustrations and I think, a red cover.
Maybe “The Princess and the Pauper” by Gwen Davis 1989
Woops, never mind that one is labelled “an Erotic Fairy Tale” but it does sound like a female version of “The Prince and the Pauper”
I’m looking for the exact same book – FAVOURITE as a child, but alas, I cannot remember the name of it!!
Found it!! But not a copy with the original illustrations… It’s called ‘The Princess who Hated it’ – was written by Klein and Illustrated by Smith. There is a new one published in ’09 (the original in ’89 or so, latest original Smith illustrations seem to be in 1998). Can’t find a copy anywhere…