Sleeping Beauty
Once upon a time there was a Queen who had a beautiful
baby daughter. She asked all the fairies in the kingdom to the christening, but
unfortunately forgot to invite one of them, who was a bit of a witch as well.
She came anyway, but as she passed the baby's cradle, she said:
"When you are sixteen, you will
injure yourself with a spindle and die!". "Oh, no!" screamed the Queen in horror. A
good fairy quickly chanted a magic spell to change the curse. When she hurt
herself, the girl would fall into a very deep sleep instead of dying.
The years went by, the little
Princess grew and became the most beautiful girl in the whole kingdom. Her
mother was always very careful to keep her away from spindles, but the
Princess, on her sixteenth birthday, as she wandered through the castle, came
into a room where an old servant was spinning.
"What are you doing?" she
asked the servant."I'm spinning. Haven't you seen a spindle before?"."No.
Let me see it!" The servant handed the girl the spindle ... and she
pricked herself with it and. with a sigh, dropped to the floor.
The terrified old woman hurried to
tell the Queen. Beside herself with anguish, the Queen did her best to awaken
her daughter but in vain. The court doctors and wizards were called, but there
was nothing they could do. The girl could not be wakened from her deep sleep.
The good fairy who managed to avoid the worst of the curse came too, and the
Queen said to her,
"When will my daughter
waken?"."I don't know," the fairy admitted sadly."In a
year's time, ten years or twenty?" the Queen went on. "Maybe in a hundred years' time. Who
knows?" said the fairy."Oh! What would make her waken?" asked
the Queen weeplng.
"Love," replied the fairy.
"If a man of pure heart were to fall in love with her, that would bring
her back to life!". "How can a man fall in love with a sleeping
girl?" sobbed the Queen, and so heart-broken was she that, a few days
later, she died. The sleeping Princess was taken to her room and laid on the
bed surrounded by garlands of flowers. She was so beautiful, with a sweet face,
not like those of the dead, but pink like those who are sleeping peacefully.
The good fairy said to herself,
"When
she wakens, who is she going to see around her? Strange faces and people she
doesn't know? I can never let that happen. It would be too painful for this
unfortunate girl."So the fairy cast a spell; and everyone that lived in
the castle - soldiers, ministers, guards, servants, ladies, pages, cooks, maids
and knights - all fell into a deep sleep, wherever they were at that very
moment.
"Now," thought the fairy,
"when the Princess wakes up, they too will awaken, and life will go on
from there." And she left the castle, now wrapped in silence. Not a sound
was to be heard, nothing moved except for the clocks, but when they too ran
down, they stopped, and time stopped with them. Not even the faintest rustle
was to be heard, only the wind whistling round the turrets, not a single voice,
only the cry of birds.The years sped past. In the castle grounds, the trees
grew tall. The bushes became thick and straggling, the grass invaded the
courtyards and the creepers spread up the walls. In a hundred years, a dense
forest grew up.
Now, it so happened that a Prince
arrived in these parts. He was the son of a king in a country close by. Young,
handsome and melancholy, he sought in solitude everything he could not find in
the company of other men: serenity, sincerity and purity. Wandering on his
trusty steed he arrived, one day, at the dark forest. Being adventurous, he
decided to explore it. He made his way through slowly and with a struggle, for
the trees and bushes grew in a thick tangle. A few hours later, now losing
heart, he was about to turn his horse and go back when he thought he could see
something through the trees . . . He pushed back the branches . . . Wonder of
wonders! There in front of him stood a castle with high towers. The young man
stood stock still in amazement,
"I wonder who this castle
belongs to?" he thought.The young Prince rode on towards the castle. The
drawbridge was down and, holding his horse by the reins, he crossed over it.
Immediately he saw the inhabitants draped all over the steps, the halls and
courtyards, and said to himself,
"Good heavens! They're
dead!" But in a moment, he realised that they were sound asleep.
"Wake up! Wake up!" he shouted, but nobody moved. Still thoroughly
astonished, he went into the castle and again discovered more people, lying fast
asleep on the floor. As though led by a hand in the complete silence, the
Prince finally reached the room where the beautiful Princess lay fast asleep.
For a long time he stood gazing at her face, so full of serenity, so peaceful,
lovely and pure, and he felt spring to his heart that love he had always been
searching for and never found. Overcome by emotion, he went close, lifted the
girl's little white hand and gently kissed it . . .
At that kiss, the prlncess qulckly
opened her eyes, and wakening from her long long sleep, seeing the Prince
beside her, murmured, "Oh, you have come at last! I was waiting for you in
my dream. I've waited so long!".Just then, the spell was broken. The
Princess rose to her feet, holding out her hand to the Prince. And the whole
castle woke up too. Everybody rose to their feet and they all stared round in
amazement, wondering what had happened. When they finally realised, they rushed
to the Princess, more beautiful and happier then ever.
A few days later, the castle that
only a short time before had lain in silence, now rang with the sound of
singing, music and happy laughter at the great party given in honour of the
Prince and Princess, who were getting married. They lived happily ever after