The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood

By the Brothers Grimm

Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who lamented every day because they had no children. One day, however, when the queen was in her bath, a frog crept out of the water, and , standing before her, croaked, and said, "Thy wish will be accomplished before the end of the year. Thou shalt have a little daughter!"

And so it happened as the frog had prophesied. The queen had a little child, who was so beautiful that the king could hardly contain himself for joy, and determined to give a great entertainment in honour of the event. He not only invited his relations, friends and acquaintance, but also the wise women, who could endow his daughter with fairy gifts. There were thirteen of these wise women; but only twelve were invited, and twelve golden plates were placed for them.

The feast was conducted with great pomp, and towards the end of it the wise women declared their readiness to endow the king's little daughter with their wonderful gifts. The first gave her virtue, the second beauty, the third riches, and so to the eleventh, with all that con be wished for in the world. Before the twelfth could speak, in walked the thirteenth. She was in a terrible rage at not having been invited; and without saluting or noticing anyone, cried in a loud voice, "In her fifteenth year the king's daughter shall prick her finger with a spindle, and fall down dead!" and, without another word, she turned round and left the hall. Everyone felt quite alarmed at this prophecy; but the twelfth, who had not yet spoken, stepped forward. She could not alter the wicked decree, but she could soften and alleviate it. So she said, "The king's daughter shall not die, but a deep sleep shall fall upon her, in which she shall remain for a hundred years.'

The little child, who was endowed with such wonderful gifts, grew up to be the delight of her parents. but, as she approached her fifteenth year, the king became very unhappy, and issued a decree that all the spindles in his kingdom should be burnt. In every other respect, the prophecies of the good fairies were fulfilled; for the young princess was so beautiful, so amiable, and so clever, that those who saw her could not help loving her; but this only made her parents more anxious, especially when they were absent from the castle. However, as the king felt certain that his commands about spindles had been obeyed, her parents would sometimes, but not often, leave her in the castle with the servants.

One day, when she had been left in this way, the young princess took a fancy into her head that she would explore the castle. so she walked from room to room, through galleries and passages, till she came at last to an old tower. She ascended the narrow, winding staircase, till at length she came to a little door. in the lock was such a rusty key, and as she turned it the door sprang open, and there, in a small room, sat an old woman spinning flax.

"Good-morning, old lady," said the princess; "What are you doing?"

"I am spinning," she replied, nodding her head.

"And what is this funny thing that jumps about so?" the princess asked, at the same time taking the spindle in her hand and trying to spin. Scarcely had she given the wheel one turn, when the bad fairy's prophecy was fulfilled - the point of the spindle stuck into her finger. At the same moment the king's daughter fell back on a bed which stood near, while a deep sleep came upon her, and not only on the princess, but on the whole on the inhabitants of the castle, the king and queen, who had returned and were in the state chamber, and all their household with them. This deep sleep also fell on the horses in the stable, the dogs in the outer court, the pigeons on the roof, the flies on the wall -- yes, and even the fire that flickered on the hearth became still and slept; the meat roasting before the fire stayed its frizzing; the cook in the kitchen, who was just going to box the ears of the scullion, let his hand drop and sank to sleep. Outside the wind lay calmly at rest, and upon the trees which surrounded the castle not a leaf stirred. In a few hours there sprung up around the castle a hedge of thorns, which year after year grew higher and higher, till at last nothing could be seen of the castle above it, not even the roof, nor the flag on the tower.

And so the years went by, and a report spread over the country of the 'sleeping beauty,' as the king's daughter was called. And from time to time the sons of kings came to the spot, and tried to penetrate through the protecting hedge of thorns. But many found it impossible, and gave up the attempt; added to this, the thorns had hands, with which they seized the young men who persisted, and held them so fast that they could not free themselves, and died a miserable death.

Many more years passes away, and at length another prince came to that part of the country and heard an old man relate the story of the thorn-surrounded castle, in which the wonderful sleeping beauty, the king's daughter, lay, and who had already slept for nearly a hundred years, and with her the king and queen and the whole household. The prince, when he heard his grandfather talk of the fate of former princes who had tried to force their way through the hedge of thorns, and how they were caught by the bushes, and died a miserable death, would say, "It matters not to me, I have no fear; I am determined to discover this beautiful Briar Rose." The good old man gave up attempting to dissuade the willful prince, and said no more.

Just at this time the hundred years had nearly come to a close, and the day at last arrived for Briar Rose to be awaked from her long sleep. On this very day the prince started on his enterprise, and on reaching the hedge of thorns, what was his surprise to find it covered with large, delicately-beautiful flowers, which separated from each other to allow him to pass, and closed again behind him like a wall. And so without difficulty he reached the court of the castle. Here he saw a dappled gray horse and a stag-hound, sleeping together. On the roof sat the pigeons, with their heads tucked under their wings.

He found the same silence in the castle; the cook, the kitchen-maid, and even the flies on the wall slept; and in the saloon he found the king and queen sleeping on their thrones, surrounded by the courtiers and the household, all slumbering peacefully. So deep was the stillness, that he could hear his own breathing; however, he wandered on from room to room, till he reached the tower where the beautiful princess lay asleep. He stood for awhile transfixed with surprise at the beauty of the sleeping maiden, which the hundred years had not injured or even changed. So strong was the fascination which held him, that he could not resist stooping to kiss her. At the touch Briar Rose opened her eyes and awoke, and with her the whole household.

At first they all stared at each other with wide open eyes, but not for long; very soon they resumed the employment in which they had been engaged in when the enchantment fell upon them. The horse rose and shook himself; the dog sprung up and barked; the pigeons drew out their heads from behind their wings, plumed their feathers, and flew to the field; even the fire aroused itself, and its flame soon burned into a steady blaze, to roast the dinner; and more than all this, the thorn hedge round the castle sunk down and disappeared.

The king and queen, who now remembered the wicked fairy's prophecy, and how it had been limited to a sleep of a hundred years instead of death, were overjoyed, and so thankful to the prince for disenchanting them, that they readily consented when he asked that the beautiful Briar Rose should be his wife. But when those around came to visit the restored and awakened household, they were much amused and surprised at the strange dresses worn by the awakened sleepers. They were equally astonished at the dress of the visitors, an no wonder, for in this hundred years the fashions had changed. The prince, however, did not care for this; he loved the princess for herself and not for her dress, and the marriage was celebrated in a very short time, with great splendor.

THE END

The pictures, in the order they appear, are from these wonderful books.

Image 2 is a scan from 'Sleeping Beauty: The Ballet Story', retold by Marian Horosko, Illustrated by Todd L. W. Doney; Text Copyright © 1994 by Marian Horosko; Illustrations Copyright © by Todd L. W. Doney

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