Sleeping Beauty

A Long-Awaited Princess

Once upon a time, a king and queen longed for a child more than anything in the world. At last, their wish came true, and a beautiful baby princess was born. The whole kingdom rejoiced.

To celebrate, the king and queen held a grand feast. They invited the twelve good fairies of the land, for each could give the baby a magical gift. But there was a thirteenth fairy too — and, by mistake, no one sent her an invitation.

The hall sparkled with candles and music. One by one, the fairies leaned over the cradle to give their gifts.

"I give you kindness," said the first.

"I give you beauty," said the second.

"I give you a voice as sweet as birdsong," said the third. And so it went — gifts of wit, grace, joy, and gentleness, one for each fairy.

An Uninvited Guest

Just as the eleventh fairy stepped back, the great doors flew open with a bang! In swept the thirteenth fairy, her eyes flashing.

"So," she said coldly, "you held a feast and forgot me?"

Her hurt feelings had turned to anger. She pointed at the cradle and spoke a terrible curse.

"On her sixteenth birthday, the princess shall prick her finger on a spindle — and she shall fall down dead!"

The room gasped in horror. The queen clutched the baby tight.

But there was still one good fairy who had not yet given her gift — the twelfth. She could not undo the curse, for it was too strong. Yet she could soften it.

She stepped forward gently. "The princess shall not die," she said. "Instead, she shall fall into a deep sleep that lasts a hundred years, until the day a kind heart comes to wake her."

A Kingdom on Guard

The king was determined to protect his daughter. He ordered every spindle and spinning wheel in the kingdom to be burned, so that none remained. And the princess grew up happy and loved, blessed with all the fairies' good gifts. She was kind, clever, and gentle to everyone she met.

Years passed peacefully. Then came the princess's sixteenth birthday.

That morning, while exploring the castle, the princess found a narrow, winding staircase she had never noticed before. Curious, she climbed all the way to the top, where there was a tiny door. Behind it sat an old woman at a strange wheel, spinning thread — the very last spindle in all the land.

"What a curious thing!" said the princess. "May I try?"

But the moment her finger touched the spindle, it pricked her — and at once she fell into a deep, deep sleep.

A Hundred Years of Silence

As the princess slept, the good fairy's magic spread through the whole castle. The king and queen dozed off on their thrones. The cooks fell asleep beside their pots. The horses slept in the stable, and the doves slept on the roof. Even the fire stopped crackling and the wind grew still.

Around the sleeping castle, a great hedge of thorny roses began to grow. Higher and higher it climbed, until the castle was hidden from view. Many years went by. People in faraway lands told stories of the sleeping princess behind the wall of roses, but none who tried to reach her could pass the thorns.

The Awakening

After a hundred years had passed, a kind and brave prince came riding by. He had heard the old tale and felt great pity for the sleeping princess.

As he reached the hedge, something wonderful happened. The hundred years were over, and the time had come. The thorns parted before him and burst into soft, blooming roses, opening a path straight to the castle door.

The prince walked through silent halls past sleeping guards and dozing servants. At last he climbed the winding stair and found the princess, as peaceful as the day she fell asleep. Moved by her gentle face, he spoke to her softly and took her hand.

At that very moment, the spell broke. The princess opened her eyes and smiled.

All through the castle, everyone stirred. The king and queen woke on their thrones. The cooks stirred their pots. The horses stamped, the doves cooed, and the fire crackled merrily once more. The whole kingdom came back to life, exactly where it had left off.

The princess and the kind prince became dear friends, and the kingdom celebrated with the greatest feast it had ever known — and this time, no one was left off the guest list.

And so, after a hundred years of waiting, they all lived happily ever after.

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The moral: Kindness, hope, and patience can soften even the hardest fate — and the smallest good deed can change everything.

Want more read-along tales? Try Cinderella or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs next.