Long ago there lived a
King and Queen who said every day, "If only we had a child!" But for a long time they had none.
One day, as the Queen was
bathing in a spring and dreaming of a child, a frog crept out of the water and
said to her, "Your wish shall be fulfilled. Before a year has passed you shall bring a
daughter into the world."
And since frogs are such
magical creatures, it was no surprise that before a year had passed the Queen
had a baby girl. The child was so beautiful
and sweet that the King could not contain himself for joy. He prepared a great feast and invited all his
friends, family and neighbours. He
invited the fairies, too, in order that they might be kind and good to the
child. There were thirteen of them in
his kingdom, but as the King only had twelve golden plates for them to eat
from, one of the fairies had to be left out.
None of the guests was saddened by this as the thirteenth fairy was
known to be cruel and spiteful.
An amazing feast was held
and when it came to an end, each of the fairies presented the child with a
magic gift. One fairy gave her virtue,
another beauty, a third riches and so on -- with everything in the world that
anyone could wish for.
After eleven of the
fairies had presented their gifts, the thirteenth suddenly appeared. She was angry and wanted to show her spite
for not having been invited to the feast.
Without hesitation she called out in a loud voice,
"When she is fifteen
years old, the Princess shall prick herself with a spindle and shall fall down
dead!"
Then without another word,
she turned and left the hall.
The guests were horrified
and the Queen fell to the floor sobbing, but the twelfth fairy, whose wish was
still not spoken, quietly stepped forward.
Her magic could not remove the curse, but she could soften it so she
said,
"Nay, your daughter
shall not die, but instead shall fall into a deep sleep that will last one
hundred years."
Over the years, the
promises of the fairies came true -- one by one. The Princess grew to be beautiful, modest,
kind and clever. Everyone who saw her
could not help but love her.
The King and Queen were
determined to prevent the curse placed on the Princess by the spiteful fairy
and sent out a command that all the spindles in the whole kingdom should be
destroyed. No one in the kingdom was allowed
to tell the Princess of the curse that had been placed upon her for they did
not want her to worry or be sad.
On the morning of her
fifteenth birthday, the Princess awoke early -- excited to be another year
older. She was up so early in the
morning, that she realized everyone else still slept. The Princess roamed through the halls trying
to keep herself occupied until the rest of the castle awoke. She wandered about the whole place, looking
at rooms and halls as she pleased and at last she came to an old tower. She climbed the narrow, winding staircase and
reached a little door. A rusty key was
sticking in the lock and when she turned it, the door flew open.
In a little room sat an
old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax. The old woman was so deaf that she had never
heard the King's command that all spindles should be destroyed.
"Good morning,
Granny," said the Princess, "what are you doing?"
"I am spinning,"
said the old woman.
"What is the thing
that whirls round so merrily?" asked the Princess and she took the spindle
and tried to spin too.
But she had scarcely
touched the spindle when it pricked her finger.
At that moment she fell upon the bed which was standing near and lay
still in a deep sleep.
The King, Queen and
servants had all started their morning routines and right in the midst of them
fell asleep too. The horses fell asleep
in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the doves on the roof and the flies on the
wall. Even the fire in the hearth grew
still and went to sleep. The kitchen
maid, who sat with a chicken before her, ready to pluck its feathers, fell
asleep. The cook was in the midst of
scolding the kitchen boy for a mess he'd made but they both fell fast
asleep. The wind died down and on the
trees in front of the castle not a leaf stirred.
Round the castle a hedge
of brier roses began to grow up. Every
year it grew higher until at last nothing could be seen of the sleeping castle.
There was a legend in the
land about the lovely Sleeping Beauty, as the King's daughter was called, and
from time to time Princes came and tried to force their way through the hedge
and into the castle. But they found it
impossible for the thorns, as though they were alive, grabbed at them and would
not let them through.
After many years a Prince
came again to the country and heard an old man tell the tale of the castle
which stood behind the brier hedge and the beautiful Princess who had slept
within for a hundred years. He heard
also that many Princes had tried to make it through the brier hedge but none
had succeeded and many had been caught in it and died.
The young Prince said,
"I am not afraid. I must go and see
this Sleeping Beauty."
The good old man did all
in his power to persuade him not to go, but the Prince would not listen.
Now the hundred years were
just ended. When the Prince approached
the brier hedge it was covered with beautiful large roses. The shrubs made way for him of their own
accord and let him pass unharmed.
In the courtyard, the
Prince saw the horses and dogs lying asleep.
On the roof sat the sleeping doves with their heads tucked under their
wings. When he went into the house, the
flies were asleep on the walls and the servants asleep in the halls. Near the throne lay the King and Queen,
sleeping peacefully beside each other.
In the kitchen the cook, the kitchen boy and the kitchen maid all slept
with their heads resting on the table.
The Prince went on
farther. All was so still that he could
hear his own breathing. At last he
reached the tower and opened the door into the little room where the Princess
was asleep. There she lay, looking so
beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her. He bent down and gave her a kiss. As he touched her, Sleeping Beauty opened her
eyes and smiled up at him.
Throughout the castle,
everyone and everything woke up and looked at each other with astonished
eyes. Within the month, the Prince and
Sleeping Beauty were married and lived happily all their lives.
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