Sleeping Beauty: A Fairytale

Once upon a time, in a hidden wood, there lived a community of tiny little people ruled by a king and queen. Among these woods were the creatures who were appointed to look after their fellow citizens. There were seven regions in the woods with one magical bird as the overseer.

One day, news reached every creature in the woods that the queen had given birth to a daughter. Everyone and everything rejoiced; the birds sang, the squirrels chattered, and the trees burst into flower. Soon after, every citizen in the kingdom received an invitation to a huge party celebrating the birth of the new princess.

At the celebration several days later, many gifts were given to the princess. At the end of the feast, the king stood up, and, raising his glass, gave a toast to his brand new heir.

"To the princess!" he shouted.

Then the seven birds who oversaw the regions came forward to present their gifts to the princess.

The first, a cardinal, gave the baby the gift of beauty. The second, a robin, gave her the gift of good wit. The third, a dove, gave her the gift of gracefulness. The fourth bird, who was a peacock, gave her the gift of dance. The fifth, a meadowlark, gave her the gift of song. The sixth, a waxwing, gave the princess the gift of languages. But before the seventh bird, a bluebird, could give her gift, a crotchety old raven burst through the doors.

"Why wasn't I invited?" she screeched, for she had once been an appointed overseer herself. But she had gotten too old for the job and had stepped down, with the promise that she would not be forgotten. But alas, the king had forgotten her, and did not send her an invitation.

"M-madam Raven! How lovely t-to see y-you!" the king stuttered, trembling and pale.

"You know what? I've decided that just because you didn't invite me doesn't mean that I can't give your precious daughter a gift." The evil old raven approached the king and queen, looking down into the cherubic face of the baby princess.

"W-what is your gift?" the queen asked, quaking in fear.

"My gift is the gift of sleep." She grinned wickedly. "Your daughter will be pricked by a rose's thorn, fall asleep, and never wake up!" And with that, she stalked out of the palace courtyard.

Tears streamed down the queen's face. "Please, do something!" she begged the bluebird. The bird felt sorry for the king and queen, and said:

"My magic can only do so much. Your daughter will be pricked by a thorn and fall asleep, but she will wake up. I promise." And with that, she smiled and flew back to the other birds.

So the king and queen banished every plant with a thorn from the castle.

One day, 18 years later, a strange fog came over the land. The king and queen remembered the raven's curse, and kept careful watch over their daughter.

After lunch that day, the princess went outside to pick flowers. She didn't seem to notice the guards posted close by, and she walked through the garden, inspecting the tulips, daisies, forget-me-nots, poppies, lilies, and various other flowers. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the most magnificent rose bush she had ever seen. She had never noticed it before.

Wandering over, she examined the rosebuds, not noticing the strange fog that seemed to surround the rosebush. She did not know that rosebushes had been forbidden in the castle. She saw a small rosebud that was just beginning to open, and reaching out, she grasped the stem.

But alas, she did not see the thorns protruding from the stalk, and got the most unpleasant feeling as they pricked her fingers. She was not aware of the blood trickling down her wrist, but only felt dizzy. Her knees gave way, and she fell to the ground, fast asleep.