Sleeping Beauty

The king and queen longed for a child. While walking beside the river, the queen found a little fish stranded on the bank and gently returned it to the water.

The fish spoke before swimming away: the queen would have a daughter. Before long, the promise came true, and the royal parents celebrated their baby girl, Briar Rose.

The king invited friends and fairies to a grand feast. Each of the twelve invited fairies was given a golden plate. They gathered around the baby and began to wish her good gifts.

The kingdom had thirteen fairies. Because there were only twelve plates, the king had not invited the last one.

The thirteenth fairy arrived, upset that she had been left out. She declared that on the princess’s fifteenth birthday a spindle would wound her.

The twelfth invited fairy had saved her gift. She could not undo the warning, but changed its ending: the princess would sleep for a hundred years instead of dying.