There was once a king and queen who longed to have a child. When the queen finally gave birth to a little princess, they were overjoyed.
To celebrate the princess’s birth, they invited seven fairies to be her godmothers on the day of her christening.
The king also held a grand banquet in their honor. Just as the fairies sat down to dine, an old fairy entered the room.
She was displeased and said to the king, “You invited all the fairies, but you deliberately left me out. Do you think so little of me?”
The king quickly explained, “Absolutely not! It’s just that you’ve been out of sight for so long, I thought you might have left …”
The old fairy became even more upset. “I simply don’t go out much because of my age, but it’s clear you don’t consider me important!”
The king hastily arranged a seat for her at the table.
But the old fairy glanced at the other fairies’ tableware, then looked at her own, and sneered,“Why do they have gold tableware, while mine is just plain?”
It turned out that the king, anticipating the arrival of seven fairies, had specially ordered seven sets of exquisite gold tableware. Since he didn’t expect the old fairy to come, he had no eighth set to offer.
The king explained apologetically, assuring her that her tableware was the finest reserved for esteemed guests of the palace.
But this did not soothe the old fairy’s anger. On the contrary, it made her even more furious. She muttered under her breath, her tone venomous, “Then don’t blame me for what happens next!”
Sitting next to the old fairy was a young fairy, who overheard the ominous words. Startled, she suspected the old fairy intended harm toward the princess and resolved to do something about it.
The fairies began bestowing their blessings upon the princess. One granted her beauty, another wisdom, and yet another a kind heart, and so on.
When it was the young fairy’s turn, she smiled at the old fairy and said, “You are the eldest and most honored among us. It would only be fitting for you to go first with your blessing.”
The old fairy said viciously, “I curse the princess to touch a spindle and die on her fifteenth birthday!”
After saying this, she left.
Everyone was shocked, and once they recovered, the queen began to cry, pleading with the fairies to break the curse.
However, no one could break the spell.
At this moment, the young fairy said, “I have not yet given my blessing to the princess. Although I cannot undo the curse, my gift to the little princess is this: she will not die but only fall into a deep sleep. One hundred years from now, a handsome, kind, and intelligent prince worthy of her will awaken her, and she will rise.”
Even so, the king and queen were still deeply worried. After the banquet, the king immediately ordered all spindle across the kingdom to be destroyed, forbidding their existence from that day forward.
The little princess grew up gradually, just as the fairies had blessed her: she became beautiful, intelligent, and kind, as if all the goodness in the world had been concentrated in her. She was loved by everyone, and the king and queen treasured her like a precious jewel.
When the princess turned fifteen, she was joyfully running around the palace. She ran up to an attic and saw an old woman spinning yarn there.
The princess had never seen a spindle before, and curiosity drew her closer.
“Granny, what is this? Can I take a look?”
As she spoke, she reached out to touch the spindle. The moment her hand made contact, she collapsed to the ground.
The old fairy’s curse had come true.
When the king and queen discovered what had happened, they were at a loss and immediately sent for the young fairy.
The young fairy arrived in haste. After examining the princess, she said to the king and queen, “Don’t worry. Look, her complexion and lips are rosy, and her breathing is steady. Although the curse has been fulfilled, my blessing has also taken effect. She hasn’t died; she’s merely asleep. In a hundred years, a prince destined for her will come to wake her, and she will awaken.”
The king and queen breathed a sigh of relief, but then anxiously said, “She will only wake up after one hundred years, but by then, we will be gone. How will our poor daughter live alone?”
The young fairy said, “If you wish, I can cast a spell to let you, along with everything in the palace, sleep alongside the princess until she wakes.”
The king and queen were overjoyed and asked the young fairy to cast the spell immediately.
The young fairy waved her magic wand, and in that instant, everything in the palace froze: the king and queen fell asleep, the maid pouring tea became motionless, and the tea suspended in midair stopped flowing…
When the fairy left the palace, towering trees, weeds, and thorny bushes rapidly grew around it, completely enclosing the palace. Without being told, no one would know there was a palace inside.
Many years passed. During this time, numerous princes came here, all having heard the tale: deep in the forest stood a palace where a sleeping beauty lay, waiting for a handsome, kind, and clever prince to awaken her.
They were all confident in their wit and looks, and all attempted to enter the palace.
But they were blocked by the dense forest and thorns outside, none succeeded, and instead ended up covered in wounds and scratches.
A hundred years later, a prince passed by and heard the story. He wanted to enter the palace to verify the truth of the legend himself.
Everyone tried to dissuade him, warning that he might lose his life, but the prince insisted on going in.
Strangely, this time the trees and thorns did not block the way. On the contrary, they automatically opened up a path, allowing the prince to enter the palace smoothly.
He saw that everyone in the palace was completely still. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were neither statues nor dead, but all fast asleep.
Finally, he arrived at the princess’s bedroom and saw the princess lying on the bed, sleeping soundly. She was even more beautiful than he had imagined.
The prince gently kissed her on the forehead and said, “Beautiful princess, it’s time to wake up.”
A miracle happened—the princess slowly opened her eyes, as if she had just awakened from a deep sleep, and the curse was lifted.
At that very moment, the frozen palace came back to life: the king and queen woke up, the maid resumed pouring tea, and the tea that had paused mid-air continued flowing into the teacup…
This hundred years seems like a second.
Later, the princess and the prince were married. They were both kind, beautiful, and intelligent, and they lived happily ever after.
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