In the long, long ago, there lived a king and queen who for many years
had no children.
At last a lovely baby was born to them--a little princess.
There was great rejoicing over all the land. The king and queen decided
to have a party in honor of the princess.
In the palace there was hurry and stir to make ready. Messengers were
sent far and near, to invite the lords and ladies of the land to the
great feast.
Among the guests invited to the party were seven good fairies.
It was a beautiful summer afternoon. The roses on the palace wall were
nodding their heads sleepily in the warm breeze, when the chariot with
the seven fairies arrived.
The good fairies entered the princess' room. There the tiny baby lay,
sleeping in a dainty pearl cradle.
"She is as sweet and fair as a rose!" they exclaimed. "We will call her
Rose."
Now it happened that the king and queen had failed to invite a spiteful
and ill-tempered old witch. The old witch was very angry, because she
had not been invited to the party.
After the guests had all arrived, she entered through the keyhole. No
one saw her enter.
Each of the good fairies bestowed on the princess a precious gift.
"I bestow upon you, sweet princess, the gifts of health and
cheerfulness," said the first fairy.
"You shall be the most beautiful princess in the world," said the second
fairy.
"You shall be witty and wise," said the third.
"You shall have the sweetest voice that ever was heard," said the
fourth.
"You shall be generous and kind," said the fifth.
"Everyone shall love you," said the sixth of the good fairies.
Just then a spiteful laugh was heard.
"Ah, ah, ah!" some one called.
The king and queen saw the old witch who had not been invited to the
party.
"I will tell you what shall happen to this little wonder," said the
witch. "She will cut her finger with a spindle before she is fifteen
years old, and then she will die!"
The old witch shook her black stick at the princess.
Then she disappeared, as she had entered, through the keyhole.
The king and queen were troubled when they heard the witch's words, but
the seventh fairy, who had not yet spoken, stepped forward.
"The king's daughter shall not die, but she shall sleep for a hundred
years. When the princess falls asleep, everyone in the palace will go to
sleep, too. They will all sleep for a hundred years."
Then the king ordered that every spindle in the kingdom should be
destroyed.
Not a spindle was to be used, anywhere in the country, until after the
princess had passed her fifteenth birthday.
The gifts of the fairies proved true. The princess was so beautiful and
so good that she was loved by all. She was witty and wise and her voice
was like a silver bell.
One day, when the princess was nearly fifteen years old, she wandered
through the palace and up the winding stairs to an old tower.
There, in a little room, sat an old woman, busily twisting thread upon a
spinning wheel. The old woman had never heard the king's command.
"How merrily the wheel goes round! Let me see if I can spin!" said the
princess.
Scarcely had the princess touched the spindle when she cut her finger.
The girl fell at once into a deep sleep. She lay upon the floor beside
the spinning wheel, fast asleep.
In the castle below, the king, the queen, and all the servants fell
asleep, too. The horses slept in their stalls. The dogs slept in their
kennels.
The pigeons on the roof, and the birds in their nests, all went sound
asleep. Even the fire flaming on the hearth became still.
Deep shadows darkened the sunny rooms of the palace, and the garden
round about.
A hedge of thorns at once began to grow around the palace.
The hedge became thicker and higher as the days went by, until at last
it was so tall that not even the palace towers could be seen.
The story of the princess, the beautiful Thorn Rose, was told far and
wide.
At last a hundred years had passed. Prince Courageous was traveling
through the land. He heard from an old man the story of the thorn hedge,
and of the princess who lay in the palace behind the hedge, fast asleep.
The old man told the prince that the time had come when the long
enchantment was at an end.
"But who knows how great the danger may be?" added the old man. "No one
has entered the palace for a hundred years!"
"I will brave the danger, whatever it may be!" exclaimed Prince
Courageous. "I will find the sleeping princess or lose my life!"
So Prince Courageous mounted his horse and rode through the woods until
he came to the tall thorn hedge. He made his way through the underbrush.
The briers were thick and the thorns sharp, but Prince Courageous was
strong and brave.
He knocked at the gate, but there was no answer. The prince opened the
gate and entered the courtyard.
All was silence in the palace hall. Only the sound of his own footsteps
could Prince Courageous hear.
Everybody was fast asleep--the horses in their stalls, the pigeons on
the roof, the birds in their nests, the servants in the halls, the king
and queen on their golden throne.
Prince Courageous tiptoed through the silent rooms. Finally, he reached
the narrow stairway that led to the tower.
The prince climbed the winding stairs. There, beside the spinning wheel,
lay the beautiful princess, fast asleep.
Stepping softly to her side, he kissed the princess on the cheek. Thorn
Rose opened her eyes--and there stood the prince!
And now all the court awoke.
The horses began to neigh. The dogs began to bark. The pigeons cooed.
The birds sang. The kitchen fire burst into flame.
The sun shone brightly, and the roses on the palace wall swayed in the
breeze.
The prince and the princess were married next day, and the seven good
fairies danced at the wedding feast.