Sleeping Beauty

In a certain castle a princess was born, and the good fairies gave her a smile, a song, and a kind heart. The last fairy added with a wink, "And one long, long sleep, for a good rest."

The princess grew up merry. But on her sixteenth birthday she pricked her finger on a spindle and yawned so sweetly that she fell asleep right there in her chair.

And with her the whole castle gently dozed off too: the cook by the oven, the cat on the windowsill, the guards at the gate, even the pigeons on the roof. A garden of wild roses with pink flowers grew up all around.

For a hundred years it was quiet and calm. The roses swayed in the wind and guarded the castle's sleep.

One day a kind prince came walking by. He parted the branches, stepped into the still hall, and whispered, "Time to wake up." The princess opened her eyes, stretched, and smiled.

The castle woke all at once: the cook stirred the soup, the cat purred, the pigeons cooed. Everyone was glad, and that evening they all lay down to sleep again — calmly now, and not for a hundred years. Goodnight.