The Story
Once upon a time, a king and queen welcomed a beautiful baby daughter. They invited all the fairies in the land to be her godmothers and bless her with gifts.
One by one the fairies gave their gifts: beauty, grace, kindness, song, and wisdom. But before the last fairy could speak, an old wicked fairy who had not been invited stormed in. "She shall prick her finger on a spindle," she cackled, "and fall down dead!" Then she vanished.
The last fairy stepped forward. She could not undo the curse entirely, but she softened it: "She shall not die, but fall into a deep sleep for one hundred years — until awakened by a prince's kiss."
The king immediately ordered every spindle in the kingdom destroyed. For years, the princess grew up safe and happy.
But on her sixteenth birthday, she wandered into a forgotten tower and found an old woman spinning. Curious, she reached out — and pricked her finger. The princess fell into a deep, enchanted sleep. The whole castle slept with her.
A century passed. Thick thorns grew around the castle until it was hidden from the world.
Then one day, a brave prince heard the legend of the sleeping princess. He fought his way through the thorns, which parted before him like magic. He walked through the silent, sleeping castle until he found the princess.
He knelt and kissed her gently. The princess opened her eyes and smiled — as if she had known him in her dreams. The whole castle awoke. And the princess and the prince were married with great celebration and lived happily ever after.