every girl a princess

'There was once a little princess who-'
'But, Mr. Author, why do you always write about princesses?'
'Because every little girl is a princess.'
'You will make them vain if you tell them that.'
'Not if they understand what I mean.'
'What do you mean?'
'What do you mean by princess?'
'The daughter of a king.'
'Very well, then every little girl is a princess...'

George MacDonald,
the original beginning of "The Princess and the Goblin".