Princess Maja Goes to the Supermarket

Princess Maja still had her secret notebook. It lived under her pillow, as always. The list inside was called Things Normal People Do.

Number seventeen was already crossed off. That was the day she took the bus. Today, she wanted to try number eight. It said: Go food shopping alone.

At the palace, food simply appeared. The cook bought it, and the kitchen made it. Maja never saw a price or a shop.

But she had a plan. She wanted to make breakfast for the kitchen team. They always made breakfast for her. She wanted to do it for them, just once.

She wrote a short shopping list. Bread, milk, eggs, butter, and apples. Then she put on her grey coat and her blue scarf. She did not tell Kira. She did not tell Brandon either.

The supermarket was ten minutes from the palace. The doors opened by themselves as she walked up. Maja stopped for a second. She liked that very much.

Inside, it was bright and busy. Music played softly from the ceiling. People pushed big metal carts in every direction. Maja took a small basket from a pile by the door. It felt like the right size for her.

Her first stop was the bakery shelf. There were so many kinds of bread. Some were white, some were brown, and some had seeds. Maja did not know which one to pick. A woman next to her took a brown loaf without even looking. So Maja took one too.

Next came the dairy fridge. This was harder. There were at least ten different cartons. Some were made from oats, and some from rice. Maja read every label. In the end, she chose the one with a blue cap. Blue was her favourite colour.

The eggs were easy. The butter was easy too. Then she came to the apples.

There were red apples and green apples in big wooden boxes. Next to them stood a small machine with a screen. A sign said: Please weigh your fruit. Maja looked at the machine. The machine did not look back.

A boy of about seven was standing nearby with his father. He watched her for a moment. "You put them on top," he said kindly. "Then you press the picture of the apple."

Maja put six red apples in a paper bag. She placed the bag on the machine and pressed the picture. A little sticker came out with the price on it. "Thank you," she told the boy. He nodded, like a very busy expert.

Then it was time to pay. There was a long line at the checkout. Maja stood at the end and waited. She was not in a hurry. She watched the people in front of her. One man bought only bananas. One woman bought twelve bottles of water.

When it was her turn, the woman at the checkout smiled. "Do you have a bag?" she asked.

Maja did not have a bag. Nobody at the palace had ever asked her that question.

"You can buy one here," the woman said. She held up a strong cotton bag with a sunflower on it. Maja liked it right away.

She paid with her card and packed everything carefully. She put the eggs on top, very gently. Then she walked home with the sunflower bag on her arm.

The next morning, Maja got up early. She went down to the palace kitchen before anyone else. She made toast with butter. She cut the apples into thin slices. She even cooked the eggs. They were not perfect, but they were warm.

When the kitchen team arrived, they stopped at the door. The cook looked at the table. Then she looked at Maja.

"Did you buy all this yourself?" she asked.

"I did," said Maja. "I even weighed the apples."

Everyone laughed, and they sat down together to eat.

That night, Maja opened her green notebook. She found number eight and crossed it off. Then she added a new line at the bottom. Always bring your own bag.

She put the notebook back under her pillow. The sunflower bag hung on her chair. Outside, the city lights were going out, one by one.

And now, it's time for you to rest too. Maybe tomorrow, you will try something new. It does not have to be big. Goodnight, and sleep well.