Sleeping Beauty
Once upon a time, in the days when there were fairies, a king and queen reigned in a country far away. Now this king and
queen had plenty of money, plenty of fine clothes to wear, plenty of good things to eat and drink and a coach to ride out in every day.
However, although they had been married many years, they had no children. This saddened them very much, as they dearly wanted a
child.
One day, as the queen was walking by the side of the river at the bottom of the garden, she saw a poor little fish that had
thrown itself out of the water and lay gasping and nearly dead on the bank. The queen took pity on the little fish and threw it back again
into the river. Before it swam away, it raised its head out of the water and said *I know what your wish is and it shall come true, in
return for your kindness to me - you will soon have a daughter."
What the little fish had said soon happened and the queen had a little girl, so very beautiful named Aurora. They had thrown
a great party and show the child to all the land, Fairies from all over were invited to the celebrations. They brought with them unique
gifts and blessed the little princess to become a clever, beautiful, and kind girl.
Just then, a wicked old fairy came to the palace and cursed the princess, “On your sixteenth birthday, you’ll touch a
spindle and die,” she screamed in anger and vanished. Everybody was shocked!
A young fairy was called into the palace. She said, “I can’t take the evil witch’s curse, but I’ll try to help. When the
princess touches spindle, she’ll not die but will instead fall into a deep sleep and will only be awakened with a kiss of a prince
who loves her.”
The king and the queen were so worried for their dear daughter that they ordered all the spinning wheels of the kingdom to
be destroyed forever. However, unknown to them, one spinning wheel was still left.
As the years went by, the baby grew to be a lovely, charming young girl. On her sixteenth birthday, when she was roaming
about the castle, she came upon a secret room at the very top of the castle towers which there was a narrow staircase ending with a little
door. In the door there was a golden key, and when she turned it the door sprang open, and there sat an old lady spinning away very
busily.
"Why how now, good mother," said the princess, "what are you doing there?"
"Spinning," said the old lady, nodding her head and humming a tune, while the wheel buzzed.
"How prettily that little thing turns round!" said the princess, who took the spindle and began to try and spin. But
scarcely had she touched it before the fairy's prophecy was fulfilled. The spindle wounded her and she fell down lifeless on the ground.
The witch’s spell comes true!
The king ordered her to be taken to the grand room with a heavy heart, where she would lie for many years. The whole
kingdom was sad for sleeping beauty. The youngest fairy watched all of this, and she said with a wave of her hand, “Let the whole
kingdom fall asleep with the princess so when is woken by her prince, she will not be alone.” The moment she said all this, all the
people and animals in the kingdom fell asleep where they were. Everything stopped.
After many, many years, a thick forest grew around the palace, and the kingdom was hidden. A hundred years later, a
handsome prince passed through the forest, and he discovered the strange kingdom.
While exploring it, he was surprised to find the sleeping beauty lying fast asleep and immediately fell in love with her. “I
want to know who she is? How gentle and peaceful she looks!” he said. He leaned down and kissed her. Instantly, the spell was
lifted, the princess and all the people awoke. It was joy and celebration all around. The prince and princess were soon married, and they
lived happily ever after.
Moral of the story : Knowing that Sleeping Beauty would be distressed to wake up and find that her family and loved ones had died during the
century she spent sleeping, the fairies also put the rest of the castle into a deep slumber. This proof that family can help us overcome anything
is a great lesson to learn from the tale.
