Part One

A folklore story current in many lands, that shows the power of love to awaken all things to life. The first part shows the deadening effect of malice.

Once upon a time a king and queen grieved sorely because they had no child. When a daughter was born there was great rejoicing and all the fairies in the kingdom were invited to a feast.

All the fairies that the king knew of came, each bringing the young princess a gift. One gave her beauty; another gave her wit; one said she should draw perfectly, and another said she should sing. At the end of the feast an old fairy who had not been invited because the king did not know of her, came into the hall and began to abuse the company for neglecting her. She turned to the princess and said:

“You shall have all the gifts the others have given you, but I tell you that some day you shall pierce your hand with a needle while you are spinning, and you shall die of the wound.”

The king and queen began to weep at this, and so did all the fairies. One of them, however, said to the princess:

“You will pierce your hand, but it shall not be death that will come to you, but sleep.” And then the feast was over and the fairies had vanished.

The king made a law that nobody should spin or have needles in his home, for fear that the princess might pierce her hand.

All went well until the princess was nearly grown. She was indeed very beautiful and very lovable. One day the princess was visiting one of the king’s castles. She saw an old woman spinning. The old woman was so deaf she had not heard of the king’s command. The princess ran up to her and seized the needle. It pierced her finger, and she fainted away.

The old woman screamed and the king and queen and all the courtiers came running. Alas! they could not waken the princess at all. She breathed but could not be aroused. They laid her on a couch and put flowers all around her. Just then a fairy came in and said:

“I told you it should be sleep instead of death. It shall be a long, long sleep for her and for you all.”

With that she touched with her wand the king and queen and all the courtiers, and they all fell fast asleep. All the servants in the castle and in the kitchens; all the grooms and all the horses stopped still. They slept on and on. A thick wood grew up around the castle door, and all the world forgot there was ever such a queen and king and princess; and they were afraid to go into the castle for the rumor went round that it was a haunted place. Here we will leave them until to-morrow.