Knjigice
Fairy tale · Classic fairy tales
Sleeping Beauty
The old tale of the hundred-year sleep
Also in: Trnuljčica (Slovenian) · Šípková Ruženka (Slovak)
Once upon a time there lived a king and a queen who had wished for a child for a long, long time. And when at last a little daughter was born to them, their joy was so great that the king held a feast for the whole land.
1
The good fairies were invited to the feast too. One after another they leaned over the cradle and gave the baby their gifts: kindness, beauty, and a merry laugh.
2
But one fairy had not been invited. Deeply offended, she came storming into the hall. "When the princess turns fifteen," she cried, "she will prick her finger on a spindle!" And she vanished before anyone could blink.
3
"Do not cry," said the youngest fairy, who had not yet given her gift. "The princess will not die — she will only fall asleep. She will sleep for a hundred years, and then someone will wake her." Just in case, the king ordered every spindle in the land to be burned.
4
The princess grew and grew. She was kind and lovely, and everyone loved her. But on her fifteenth birthday she was home all alone — so she went exploring the castle, along corridors and up staircases where she had never been before.
5
At the very top of an old tower she found a little door. Behind it sat an old woman, spinning. "What is that?" asked the princess. "A spindle," said the old woman. "Would you like to try?" She had barely touched it — prick! — and in that very moment she fell asleep.
6
And she was not the only one. The whole castle fell asleep: the king and queen at the table, the cook in the middle of his stirring, the dog in the middle of a bark — even the fire in the hearth began to doze. Everything stood still, quiet and calm.
7
Around the castle a tall hedge of thorns grew up. It grew and grew until it covered the walls and the towers. Years went by, birds built their nests in it, and wild roses bloomed among the thorns.
8
All through the land people told of the sleeping princess behind the thorns. Many a prince tried to reach her, but the thorns held him back, and he turned for home.
9
But when exactly one hundred years had passed, a young prince came riding by. And behold: that very day the thorns burst into bloom as never before, and the branches drew aside from his path all by themselves.
10
He walked through the sleeping castle, past the sleeping cook, past the sleeping dog, past the king and queen asleep at the table. Everything was silent — only his footsteps echoed.
11
At the very top of the tower he found a little door. On the bed slept a princess with golden hair, so peaceful and so lovely that he stopped quite still. He took her hand and kissed her gently on the forehead.
12
Sleeping Beauty opened her eyes and smiled. And in that same moment the whole castle woke up: the fire crackled again, the cook stirred his pot, the dog barked, and the king and queen hugged each other for joy.
13
Soon there was a wedding at the castle such as the land had never seen. Sleeping Beauty and the prince danced until morning — and if nothing has changed, they are dancing still.
14The End
