Questions: Which quotation from the passage encompasses the climax of the story? "Then [the Queen] took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea." "In the morning she was asked how she had slept." "Oh, very badly!" said she. "I have scarcely closed my eyes all night." "So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess."

The answer is: "Oh, very badly!' said she. 'I have scarcely closed my eyes all night."

Explanation for each option:

1. "Then [the Queen] took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea."

   • This quotation describes an important event in the story, but it is part of the rising action rather than the climax. It sets up the test to determine if the girl is a real princess.

2. "In the morning she was asked how she had slept."

   • This line is part of the transition to the climax. It leads up to the moment of revelation but does not itself contain the critical turning point of the story.

3. "Oh, very badly!' said she. 'I have scarcely closed my eyes all night."

   • This is the climax of the story. It is the moment of revelation where the girl’s sensitivity to the pea, despite the twenty mattresses, proves she is a real princess. This is the turning point that resolves the central conflict.

4. "So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess."

   • This quotation is part of the falling action and resolution. It describes the outcome of the climax but does not encompass the climax itself.

In summary, the climax of the story is the moment when the girl reveals that she slept poorly because of the pea, proving her royal sensitivity.