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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 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.
bHIII JII 
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