Sleeping Beauty
1. The Fairies Come To Celebrate
There were once a King and Queen who had no children, though they had been married for many years. At last, however, a little daughter was born to them. Everyone was happy that the princess was born, and there was great rejoicing through all the kingdom.
When the time came for the little Princess to be christened, a grand feast and party was prepared. And six powerful fairies were asked to stand as her godmothers. But the Queen forgot to invite the seventh fairy, who was the most powerful of them all, and was also very wicked and malicious.
On the day of the christening the six good fairies came early, in chariots drawn by butterflies, or by doves or wrens or other birds. They were welcomed by the King and Queen, and after some talk they were led to the hall for the big feast celebration.
Everything there was wonderful. There were delicious fruits and meats and pastries and every other kind of food. The plates were all of gold, and for each fairy there was a goblet cut from a single precious gemstone. One goblet was a diamond, one a sapphire, one a ruby, one an emerald, one an amethyst, and one a topaz. The fairies were delighted with the beauty of everything. Even in their own fairy palaces they had no such goblets. They thanked the King for making the goblets.
2. The Bad Fairy Arrives At The Party
They were just about to sit at the table when there was a loud noise outside on the terrace. The Queen looked from the window and almost fainted at the sight she saw. The bad fairy had arrived. She had come uninvited, and the Queen guessed that the bad fairy came to cause trouble.
The bad fairy’s chariot was of black iron, and was drawn by four dragons with flaming eyes and brass scales. The fairy sprang from her chariot, and came briskly into the king’s dining hall with her wooden staff in her hand.
“How can this be? How can this be?” cried the bad fairy to the Queen. “Here all my fairy sisters have been invited to come and bring their gifts to the Princess, and you forgot only me.”
The Queen did not know what to say. She was greatly frightened. However, she tried to hide her fear, and made the seventh fairy as welcome as the others. They gave the bad fairy a seat at the table next to the King. And the Queen tried to pretend as if they had expected the bad fairy to come. But for her there was no precious goblet like there was for the other fairies. And when she saw the goblets that had been given to the six other fairies her face grew green with envy, and her eyes flashed fire. She ate and drank and feasted with them, but she said never a word.
After the feast the little Princess was brought into the room, and she smiled so sweetly and looked so innocent that only a wicked heart could have wanted evil against her.
3. The Fairies Bless The Princess
Then the fairies took turns, giving gifts to the little princess.
The first fairy took the child in her arms and said, “My gift to the Princess shall be that of contentment, for contentment is better than gold.”
“Yet gold is good,” said the second fairy, “and I will give her the gift of wealth.”
“Health shall be hers,” said the third, “for wealth is of little use without it.”
“And I,” said the fourth, “will gift her with beauty to win all hearts.”
“And wit to charm all ears,” said the fifth. “That is my gift to her.”
The sixth fairy hesitated, and in that moment the wicked one stepped forward. While the others had spoken the bad fairy had been swelling with spite like a toad.
“And I say,” said the wicked fairy, “that in her seventeenth year she shall prick her finger with a spindle and fall dead.”
When the Queen heard this she cried aloud, and the King grew as pale as death. But then the sixth fairy stepped forward.
“Wait a moment,” said she. “I have not spoken yet. I cannot undo what our wicked sister has done, but I say that the Princess shall not really die. She shall fall into a deep sleep that shall last a hundred years, and everyone in the castle shall sleep with her. At the end of that time she shall be awakened by a kiss.”
When the wicked fairy heard this she was filled with rage, but she had already spoken; she could do no more. She rushed out of the castle and jumped into her chariot, and the dragons carried her away, and where she went no one either knew nor cared.
The other fairies also went away, and they were sad because of what would happen to the Princess.
4. The King Removes all Spindles From The Kingdom
But at once the King gave orders that every spinning-wheel and spindle in the land should be destroyed, so that the princess would not prick her finger as the wicked fairy had said. And when there was no more wheel or spindle in his kingdom, the King felt quite happy again. For if all the spindles were gone the Princess could not prick her finger with one; and if she did not prick her finger she would not fall into the enchanted sleep.
So the King and Queen were at peace, and all went well in the castle for seventeen years. All that the fairies had promised to the Princess came true. She was so beautiful that she was the wonder of all who saw her, and so witty and gentle-hearted that everyone loved her. Beside this she had health, wealth, and contentment, and was smiling and joyous everyday from morning till night.
5. The Princess Finds A Spindle
One day the King and Queen went away on a journey, and the Princess took it into her head to climb up a high tower where she had never been before, and from there to watch the King and Queen return.
She found the stairs that led to the tower, and then she walked up the stairs, up and up and up, until she was high above the roofs of the castle. At last she reached the very top of the tower, and there was an iron door with a rusty key in it.
The Princess turned the key and the door swung open. She stepped into the room, and an old, old, wrinkled woman sat there at a wheel spinning.
The Princess had never seen a spinning-wheel before. It seemed a curious thing to her. She went in and stood close to the old woman so that she could see it better.
“What is that you are doing?” the Princess asked.
“I am spinning,” answered the old woman.
“And what is that little thing that flies around so fast?” asked the Princess.
“That is a spindle.” said the old woman.
“It is a curious little thing,” said the Princess, and she reached out her hand to touch it. Then the point of the spindle pricked her finger, and at once the Princess sighed, and her eyes closed, and she fell back on a couch in a deep sleep.
6. Everything Sleeps
Immediately a silence fell also upon all in the castle. The King and Queen had just returned from their journey. They had stepped down from their horses and had entered the castle, and just then they fell asleep because of the curse.
The guards who followed them also fell asleep. The dogs and horses in the courtyard fell asleep, and the pigeons on the roof. The boy who worked in the kitchen slept and the cook did not scold him, for she too was asleep. The meat above the fire did not burn, for the fire was also sleeping. Even the flies in the castle and the bees among the flowers hung motionless in the air. All slept. From greatest to least, all slept.
Then all around the castle an enchanted forest sprang up. The forest surrounded the castle and shut it in like a wall. The enchanted forest grew so dark and high that at last not even the highest tower of the castle could be seen.
Princess slept, but she was not forgotten. Many brave princes and heroes tried to rescue her. They came to the edge of the enchanted forest, but could not enter, because the branches were twisted so closely together that no prince or hero could crawl between them. They tried to cut a way through, but the branches were hard as iron, and grew back as quickly as they were cut away.
As years passed by, the brave heroes who had sought the Princess grew old and had children of their own. These children also grew to be men and married. Then the Princess was forgotten by everyone, or was remembered only as an old story.
7. The Prince Goes Hunting
At last a hundred years had slipped away. That is when a young and handsome Prince came near the forest. He was hunting, and rode his horse ridden so fast and eagerly that he had left the other hunters far behind. Now he was hot and tired. He saw a hut were an very old man lived, and the prince asked the old man for a drink of water.
The old man brought a cup of water to Prince. After the Prince had drank, he sat down for awhile outside the hut and looked around. “What is that darkness, like a cloud, that I see over yonder?” The Prince asked the old man.
“I cannot tell you for sure,” said the old man, “for it is a long distance away and I have never gone to see. But my grandfather told me once that it was an enchanted forest. He said there was a castle hidden deep in the middle of it. And that in that castle lay a sleeping Princess.
That Princess, my grandfather told me, was the most beautiful Princess in all the world. But an evil fairy cast a spell on her, and she must sleep a hundred years. At the end of that time a Prince will come and wake her with a kiss.”
“And how long has she slept now?” asked the Prince, and his heart beat in his breast like a bird.
“I do not know,” answered the old man, “but a long, long time. My grandfather was an old man when he told me, and he could not remember either her.”
The Prince thanked the old man for what he had told him. Then he rode away toward the enchanted forest as fast as he could.
8. The Prince Finds the Enchanted Palace
When he was at a distance from the forest, it looked like a dark cloud, but as he came nearer the forest began to grow rosy. All the branches and briers had begun to bud. By the time the Prince was close to them they were in full flower.
And when he reached the edge of the forest the branches divided, leaving an open path before him. Along this path the Prince rode. Before long he came to the enchanted palace.
He entered the courtyard and looked about him wondering. The dogs lay sleeping in the sunshine and never woke at his coming. The horses stood like statues. The guards slept leaning on their arms.
The Prince dismounted his horse and went on into the palace; on he went through one room after another, and no one woke to stop him.
At last he came to the stairway that led to the tower and he went on up it. Up and up he climbed, as the Princess had done before him.
9. The Enchanted Kiss
He reached the room at the top of the tower, and then he stopped, and stood amazed. There on the couch lay a maiden more beautiful than he had ever dreamed of. He could scarcely believe there was such beauty in the world. He stood there for a while, and then he bent down and kissed her.
All at once, all through the castle sounded the hum of waking life. The King and Queen, down in the throne-room stirred and rubbed their eyes. The guards started from sleep. The horses stomped, the dogs sprang up barking. The meat in the kitchen began to burn, and the cook scolded the boy. The courtiers smiled and bowed.
Up in the tower the Princess opened her eyes, and as soon as she saw the Prince she loved him. He took her hand and raised her from the couch. “Will you be my own dear bride?” said he. And the Princess answered "yes."
And so they were married with great rejoicings, and the six fairies came to the wedding and brought with them gifts more beautiful than ever were seen before. As for the seventh fairy, no one knows. If she did not burst with spite she may be living still.
And so the Prince and Princess lived happily forever after.