THE SLEEPING PRINCESS.
Once upon a time there lived a king and a queen who had no children.
They were so happy when a little daughter came that they gave a great feast.
The king asked the fairies to come because he wished them to be kind and good to the little princess.
There were thirteen fairies in the land. But the king had only twelve golden dishes. So one fairy was not asked to come to the feast. This made her very angry.
The twelve fairies came and gave all their best gifts to the little princess.
Just then the door opened and the angry fairy came into the room.
“When the princess is fifteen years old she shall prick her finger with a spinning needle and die,” said the angry fairy.
But there was one kind fairy who had not made her wish.
“No!” she said. “The princess shall not die. She shall fall asleep for a hundred years.”
The king and the queen were frightened. So they said that no spinning-wheel should be used in all the land.
One day, when the princess was fifteen years old, she went into a high tower of the castle. There sat an old woman spinning.
“Good morning,” said the princess. “What are you doing?”
“I am spinning,” said the old woman.
“Oh,” cried the princess, “how I should like to spin!”
The old woman gave the needle to the princess. She pricked her finger and fell back fast asleep.
The king and the queen and every one in the castle fell asleep.
The fire in the kitchen stopped burning and the cook fell asleep.
The horses in the barn went to sleep.
The dogs stopped barking and fell asleep.
The doves on the housetop put their heads under their wings and went to sleep.
Even the flies on the walls stopped buzzing and fell asleep.
A hedge of thorns soon grew around the castle. It was so high and thick that no one could pass through it.
One hundred years after, a king’s son was hunting. He saw the towers of a castle far away.
He rode toward the castle and at last came to the hedge of thorns. As the prince looked he saw that it was not a hedge of thorns, but a hedge of beautiful flowers.
The prince passed through the hedge of flowers and followed a path to the castle.
He went into the castle and saw the king and the queen fast asleep.
Then he looked in all the rooms. By and by the prince came to the high tower.
There lay the princess fast asleep. She was so beautiful that the prince kissed her hand.
The princess opened her eyes and said, “My prince, I have waited for you here a hundred years.”
Then the prince and the princess went out of the high tower together.
At once the king and the queen and every one in the castle awoke.
The fire in the kitchen burned, and the cook began to get the dinner.
The horses in the barn awoke, and the dogs jumped about and barked.
The flies on the wall buzzed, and the doves flew about the housetop.
That night there was a great feast in the castle. Ever after the prince and the princess lived happily together.
Jacob and William Grimm(Adapted).