ABSTRACT
The fairy tale of The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) illustrates how, historically, people have wanted to think that ‘well-born’ individuals are physiologically and psychologically different from ordinary people, with heightened and more refined sensibilities. Only a ‘real’ princess would do for a prince to marry. Only a real princess would have a sleepless night because she could feel that there was a pea underneath the pile of 20 mattresses and 20 feather quilts on the bed she was lying on. We still make somewhat similar evaluations in relation to the species and breeds of animals whose reproduction we control. The perception lingers today that pedigree dogs have heightened and refined sensibilities in comparison to mongrels, and many people would probably take it for granted that dogs have heightened and refined sensibilities in comparison to rats.
