Sleeping Beauty

The story

Once, there lived a king and queen who wished, more than anything, for a child — but year after year, none came. One day, while the queen was bathing in a quiet pond, a frog crept out of the water and said to her, "Your wish will soon come true. Before a year has passed, you will have a little daughter." The frog's words came true, and the queen gave birth to a baby girl so lovely that the whole kingdom rejoiced.

The king was overjoyed and planned a grand feast to welcome her, inviting the wise fairies of the land to bless his daughter. But the palace had only twelve golden plates, and there were thirteen fairies in the kingdom, so one was left out and had to stay behind in her faraway tower. On the day of the feast, the twelve fairies came forward one by one with their gifts. One wished her beauty, another kindness, another cleverness, another a voice as sweet as a bird's — and with each wish, a soft light seemed to settle over the little cradle.

Just as the eleventh fairy finished her wish, a cold wind swept through the hall and every candle flickered. The uninvited fairy swept in, furious. She glared around the room and cried, "So you have all forgotten me! Very well — I too have a gift for the princess. In her fifteenth year, she shall prick her finger on a spindle and fall down dead!" Then she turned and swept out again, leaving the whole hall pale and silent.

Luckily, the twelfth fairy had not yet made her wish. She could not undo the curse completely, but she could soften it. Stepping to the cradle, she said gently, "The princess will not truly die. She will only fall into a deep sleep that lasts a hundred years — until, one day, a prince comes to wake her." At this, everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the kind young fairy.

To keep his daughter safe, the king ordered every spindle in the kingdom burned, down to the very last one. The years passed, and the princess grew up sweet, gentle, and lovely, loved by everyone who met her. People called her Briar Rose, and the old prophecy became a story everyone knew by heart.

On the princess's fifteenth birthday, the king and queen happened to be away from the castle. Wandering through the halls, she found her way to an old tower she had never explored. She climbed the narrow stairs and opened a small door, where an old woman sat spinning with a spindle. "What is that?" the princess asked, curious, reaching out to try it herself. The moment her finger touched the spindle's point, she gave a small cry — and at once her eyes grew heavy, and she sank onto a bed nearby, fast asleep.

Sleep swept through the castle like a soft wind. The king and queen, just returned, dozed off on their thrones. In the kitchen, the cook raised his hand to cuff a lazy kitchen boy — and his hand simply stopped in mid-air. The horses slept in their stalls, the dogs slept in the yard, and the doves on the roof tucked their heads under their wings. Even the fire in the hearth grew still and quiet. The whole castle fell silent, as though time itself had stopped.

Outside, a hedge of thorny wild roses began to grow, thicker and taller every year, until it wrapped the whole castle in green, hiding even the rooftops and chimneys from sight. Over the years, a few brave princes heard the story of the sleeping princess in the tower and tried to push their way through. But the thorns were sharp and tangled, tearing their cloaks and scratching their arms, until each one had to turn back, empty-handed and disappointed.

A hundred years slipped by, almost without anyone noticing. Then one day, another prince passed through the land and heard the old story from a villager. Something in it stirred his heart, and he decided to try his luck. As it happened, it was the very day the hundred years came to an end — and strangely enough, as the prince approached, the thick thorns parted on their own, blooming with soft pink flowers to make way for him. He followed the path into the castle, past the sleeping guards and courtiers, all the way up to the tower, and gently pushed open the small door. There lay the princess, peaceful and lovely in her sleep. He knelt beside her and softly kissed her forehead.

Slowly, the princess opened her eyes and smiled up at him. In that same moment, the whole castle stirred awake. The king and queen stretched and picked up their conversation right where they had left off. The cook's hand finally came down, patting the kitchen boy gently on the head. The horses snorted awake, the dogs wagged their tails and barked, and the fire crackled back to life. The prince took the princess's hand, and together they walked down from the tower. Soon after, the whole kingdom celebrated a joyful wedding, and they lived happily together for the rest of their days.