Day 1
Once upon a time there lived a young king and his queen. They ruled their kingdom well and were loved by their subjects, despite being a little foolish. The one dark cloud over their happiness was that they couldn't seem to have child. One day, when the queen was bathing in a forest stream, she was approached by a frog who told her the secret to having children. The queen assumed that talking frogs must know what they were talking about and hurried home. Sure enough, nine months later the queen gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
The overjoyed royals planned a lavish christening feast and decided to invite the six fairies who lived in that land in the hopes that they would bless the little princess. Six fairies showed up and were given six chests full of beautiful jewels and served six delicate cakes on six golden plates. Unfortunately the happy couple had forgotten to invite the seventh fairy who lived in a small corner of a dark forest in the kingdom. So insulted was the seventh fairy that she decided to come to the feast and curse the princess. By the time she arrived five of the fairies had already blessed the little princess with wisdom, beauty, grace, bravery, and joy. As the seventh airy came in a hush fell across the banquet hall. She approached the baby in her bassinet and laid her curse: the princess would indeed have all these gifts, but on her sixteenth birthday she would prick her finger on a spindle and die. The king and queen pleaded with the seventh fairy, but she simply laughed an evil laugh and flew out of the castle.
Luckily the sixth fairy had yet to bestow her gift. She had planned on blessing the little princess with a voice like a songbird, but that could have been complicated if she wanted to speak and besides, this was a much more important matter. The fairy explained to the king and queen that she could not reverse the magic of the curse, but that she could soften the blow. She placed her blessing on the princess, saying that she would indeed prick her finger on a spindle on her sixteenth birthday, but instead of dying she would fall into a deep sleep that would envelope the entire castle for one hundred years and that she would be awakened by the arrival of her heart's true love. The king and queen thanked the fairy and, since no one was really in the mood to continue feasting, the celebration was ended.
Now the fairies cautioned the monarchs that they would not be able to avoid the curse, but the slightly foolish king did not take them at their word and sent out a proclamation the very next day that made spinning wheels illegal. Thus the princess grew up never seeing a spindle and the kingdom's biggest import became spun fabrics. All of the five fairies' gifts came to the princess in abundance. She was the loveliest, kindest, and most joyful princess in many lands. As she grew older, she also became a valuable counsel to her parents, often turning them away from a very foolish course of action. And for sixteen years the kingdom prospered.
On the day of her sixteenth birthday, the princess found herself very annoyed with her royal parents. They insisted that she spend her entire birthday party in her own chambers in the castle, and that only a few select guests were allowed in. You see, her parents had decided not to tell her of the fairy's curse, or perhaps she would have stayed in her rooms. As it was, she stomped her foot and furrowed her brow, and the princess decided to disobey her parents and sneak out of her rooms to explore one of the many closed off wings of the castle. She had a glorious morning in rooms she had never seen, until she came to a small door at the top of a tall tower staircase. On the other side of it she found a little old woman spinning. Having never seen a spinning wheel, she was immediately intrigued and asked to try. The little old woman sat the princess down and handed her the spindle. As soon as the princess touched it a splinter wedged itself in her thumb and she fell to the floor in a deep sleep. The old woman, who was of course the seventh fairy in disguise, cackled and flew away, satisfied that her work was done.
The rest of the castle began falling asleep as well, and by the time the last groom in the stables nodded off next to a snoring horse, the six good fairies had arrived. They had been waiting for this day and they flew through the castle making sure that all the sleepers were comfortable and safe. Then they went to the princess and placed her on her own bed in her own room. As they left they caused a great bramble to grow around the castle to protect it from outside dangers.
Well, almost a hundred years passed with the sleeping castle surrounded by thorny vines. Legends grew up about it in the neighboring lands that a prize waited for the man brave enough to make his way into the castle. Many princes and knights tried over the years, but no one succeeded. One day a prince from a far off land, braver and bolder and more handsome than the rest, tried his might against the brambles. It was a great ordeal, but eventually he made his way through. He went into the castle and carefully picked his way through the sleeping servants, nobles, and animals. He knew, as most men do, that any prize must be at the top of stairs in a tall tower. So up he climbed until he came the the door of the chamber of the princess. He opened the door and beheld the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, lying on her bed asleep. Being already married and an immoral selfish louse, he raped the sleeping princess and went on his way.
Nine months later, still asleep, the princess gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. The newborn baby boy cried and clung to his mother, but the baby girl was hungry and, searching for her mother's breast, found the thumb with the splinter. She began to suck and the splinter popped out. The princess awoke and was immediately filled with love for her children. When the king and queen awoke, they rushed to their daughter's room and found her nursing the babies. The princess, who had been blessed with the gift of joy, did not remember any trauma from her attack and told her parents that she did not know how the babies had been born, but that she was happy to spend the rest of her days in the castle raising her son and daughter.
So the castle went back to its function and the royal family went back to ruling. With the help of the wise princess, the king and queen negotiated new treaties with the neighboring kingdoms. The princess held a lavish christening banquet for her two children. She invited all seven fairies in the land, gave them seven chests full of beautiful jewels and served them seven delicate cakes on seven golden plates. The seventh fairy was more than mollified and, with the magical protection of all the fairies in the land, the princess and her foolish parents and her children lived happily ever after.
The overjoyed royals planned a lavish christening feast and decided to invite the six fairies who lived in that land in the hopes that they would bless the little princess. Six fairies showed up and were given six chests full of beautiful jewels and served six delicate cakes on six golden plates. Unfortunately the happy couple had forgotten to invite the seventh fairy who lived in a small corner of a dark forest in the kingdom. So insulted was the seventh fairy that she decided to come to the feast and curse the princess. By the time she arrived five of the fairies had already blessed the little princess with wisdom, beauty, grace, bravery, and joy. As the seventh airy came in a hush fell across the banquet hall. She approached the baby in her bassinet and laid her curse: the princess would indeed have all these gifts, but on her sixteenth birthday she would prick her finger on a spindle and die. The king and queen pleaded with the seventh fairy, but she simply laughed an evil laugh and flew out of the castle.
Luckily the sixth fairy had yet to bestow her gift. She had planned on blessing the little princess with a voice like a songbird, but that could have been complicated if she wanted to speak and besides, this was a much more important matter. The fairy explained to the king and queen that she could not reverse the magic of the curse, but that she could soften the blow. She placed her blessing on the princess, saying that she would indeed prick her finger on a spindle on her sixteenth birthday, but instead of dying she would fall into a deep sleep that would envelope the entire castle for one hundred years and that she would be awakened by the arrival of her heart's true love. The king and queen thanked the fairy and, since no one was really in the mood to continue feasting, the celebration was ended.
Now the fairies cautioned the monarchs that they would not be able to avoid the curse, but the slightly foolish king did not take them at their word and sent out a proclamation the very next day that made spinning wheels illegal. Thus the princess grew up never seeing a spindle and the kingdom's biggest import became spun fabrics. All of the five fairies' gifts came to the princess in abundance. She was the loveliest, kindest, and most joyful princess in many lands. As she grew older, she also became a valuable counsel to her parents, often turning them away from a very foolish course of action. And for sixteen years the kingdom prospered.
On the day of her sixteenth birthday, the princess found herself very annoyed with her royal parents. They insisted that she spend her entire birthday party in her own chambers in the castle, and that only a few select guests were allowed in. You see, her parents had decided not to tell her of the fairy's curse, or perhaps she would have stayed in her rooms. As it was, she stomped her foot and furrowed her brow, and the princess decided to disobey her parents and sneak out of her rooms to explore one of the many closed off wings of the castle. She had a glorious morning in rooms she had never seen, until she came to a small door at the top of a tall tower staircase. On the other side of it she found a little old woman spinning. Having never seen a spinning wheel, she was immediately intrigued and asked to try. The little old woman sat the princess down and handed her the spindle. As soon as the princess touched it a splinter wedged itself in her thumb and she fell to the floor in a deep sleep. The old woman, who was of course the seventh fairy in disguise, cackled and flew away, satisfied that her work was done.
The rest of the castle began falling asleep as well, and by the time the last groom in the stables nodded off next to a snoring horse, the six good fairies had arrived. They had been waiting for this day and they flew through the castle making sure that all the sleepers were comfortable and safe. Then they went to the princess and placed her on her own bed in her own room. As they left they caused a great bramble to grow around the castle to protect it from outside dangers.
Well, almost a hundred years passed with the sleeping castle surrounded by thorny vines. Legends grew up about it in the neighboring lands that a prize waited for the man brave enough to make his way into the castle. Many princes and knights tried over the years, but no one succeeded. One day a prince from a far off land, braver and bolder and more handsome than the rest, tried his might against the brambles. It was a great ordeal, but eventually he made his way through. He went into the castle and carefully picked his way through the sleeping servants, nobles, and animals. He knew, as most men do, that any prize must be at the top of stairs in a tall tower. So up he climbed until he came the the door of the chamber of the princess. He opened the door and beheld the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, lying on her bed asleep. Being already married and an immoral selfish louse, he raped the sleeping princess and went on his way.
Nine months later, still asleep, the princess gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. The newborn baby boy cried and clung to his mother, but the baby girl was hungry and, searching for her mother's breast, found the thumb with the splinter. She began to suck and the splinter popped out. The princess awoke and was immediately filled with love for her children. When the king and queen awoke, they rushed to their daughter's room and found her nursing the babies. The princess, who had been blessed with the gift of joy, did not remember any trauma from her attack and told her parents that she did not know how the babies had been born, but that she was happy to spend the rest of her days in the castle raising her son and daughter.
So the castle went back to its function and the royal family went back to ruling. With the help of the wise princess, the king and queen negotiated new treaties with the neighboring kingdoms. The princess held a lavish christening banquet for her two children. She invited all seven fairies in the land, gave them seven chests full of beautiful jewels and served them seven delicate cakes on seven golden plates. The seventh fairy was more than mollified and, with the magical protection of all the fairies in the land, the princess and her foolish parents and her children lived happily ever after.