Like all other stories, this one too begins with… once upon a time, there was an emperor who, together with his wife, dreamt of having a child who would one day rule over the entire kingdom. Not a day went by without them saying: Our palace feels so empty – if only we had a child!

 To everyone’s amazement, the empress got pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Wanting to celebrate, the emperor hosted a fabulous feast, inviting the fairies, to get into their good graces. Although there were many fairies in the kingdom, the emperor decided not to invite one of them and, in the middle of the party, after the baby girl had been offered the most beautiful of gifts and wishes, a loud noise was heard: the fairy who hadn’t been invited stormed into the hall!

– When your daughter turns 15 years old, she shall prick her finger with a spindle and die!

– Oh no, murmured everyone in the hall at once.

– My dear, you shall not die, but you shall fall into a deep sleep, for 100 years, said the last good fairy, who hadn’t had her chance to bestow her wishes upon the child.

 Desperate, the emperor ordered that every spindle in the land should be burnt, then forgot all about the curse.

 And so time passed and the baby girl turned into a young lady. She was friendly, beautiful inside and out, wise and kind. On her 15th birthday, bored, she started exploring every room of the castle, until she reached an old tower. In one small, dark chamber, she saw an old woman weaving.

– Hello, who are you? What are you doing here, in the tower?

– I’m spinning, my child, so that I can pass the time.

– But what is that thing that spins so quickly? asked the girl, taking the spindle in her hands. Ouch!

 The moment she touched it, she stung her finger and the curse of the fairy was fulfilled.

 The second the girl fell asleep, the entire palace seemed to freeze at once: her parents, the royal chef, the horses in the stable, the dogs, they were all numb and even the wind stopped blowing.

 Around the castle the weed started growing taller and taller, and people quickly understood the curse of the evil fairy had been fulfilled. Many young men tried to make their way through the wall of thorns, but none of them managed to find their way back.

 After 100 years, upon hearing the story of the Sleeping Beauty, a young prince came to the land.

– I wish to save her!

– Don’t risk your own life! said a wise, old man. Stronger men have tried climbing the wall of thorns, and never came back.

– I am not afraid!

 When the prince got close to the palace, he couldn’t believe his eyes – the thorns had turned into big, beautiful flowers, which moved aside as he was drawing near, allowing him to get to the palace where both men and animals were deep in slumber.

 He eventually reached the tower and opened the door of the chamber where Sleeping Beauty was lying.

– How beautiful she is! thought the boy and kissed her.
The girl opened her eyes, blinked and looked at him fondly.

– Where am I? Who are you? Is this but a dream?
And the young man told her all about it.

All of a sudden, the castle got its shine back. The horses woke up and shook their manes, the birds started chirping and the chef got the pots and pans boiling again.

– Ooooh, that was such a deep sleep! said the emperor, waking up. I had the weirdest of dreams…

 And so the tale of the Sleeping Beauty came to an end – with a big royal wedding where everyone rejoyced, especially the good fairies, who had watched over the sleep of their dear child.