Introduction to the Story
"Sleeping Beauty" or “Little Briar Rose” is a science fiction short story by Arthur C. Clarke, first published in the magazine Infinity Science Fiction in April 1957 and later anthologized in Tales from the White Hart.
The fairy tale is about a princess who got stabbed with a spindle and received a vengeful curse by an evil fairy. According to the curse, the only person who could have gotten her free from the curse was the prince.
In this article, you will read the whole life story of the sleeping beauty from her birth to the end and this is a famous fairy tale. Let’s start the story.
The Story of Sleeping Beauty
The Story
A long time ago, there lived a King and a Queen in the country of France. They always wished to have a child more than anything, and finally, that wish of theirs came true. The Queen gave birth to an adorable baby princess. Both the King and the Queen were very happy.
King and The Queen with Their Daughter
To this happiness, bells all around the country rang joyfully. They invited every fairy in the realm to their daughter’s naming ceremony. Every guest was served in silverware and plates made of pure gold.
Fairies at The Naming Ceremony
An old fairy named Maleficent, who had vanished 50 years ago and had not been seen for all this time, suddenly appeared at the ceremony without any invitation.
Considering that she was a fairy and respected her presence, the King and the Queen arranged a suitable setting for the new visitor without delay.
Unfortunately, the cutlery and the plates were not made out of pure gold. This offended the elderly fairy and made her furious. Simultaneously it was time for each fairy to provide the child with her benediction.
The Evil fairy
Maleficent rose up when it was her turn to speak and cried out, saying, “I announce before you all that this child, on her sixteenth birthday, shall stab her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die!”.
Maleficent vanished with a whoosh of smoke. Everyone was terrified.
However, one of the fairies still hadn’t granted her approval. The King and the Queen requested her to nullify the curse nut that was not conceivable. The fairy instead suggested that she could lessen the curse.
He said, “When the princess pricks her finger on the spinning wheel on her 16th birthday, she won’t die; instead, she will doze for a century”.
The Last Fairy Giving her Blessing to The Infant
“100 years? We won’t recognize our daughter anymore after she gets 16” said the Queen with great fear and sorrow.
After what happened, the King commanded to remove every spinning wheel from the kingdom. He instructed them to do so because the princess wouldn’t even come close to a spinning wheel.
The infant would be raised by fairies in a cabin tucked away in the forest. They would keep her there until she was 16 in order to keep her safe. Once it will be all over, it would be okay to bring Princess Aurora back to the palace.
It was the day when Princess Aurora turned 16 and soon when she was exploring the castle, she discovered a secret compartment where a senior citizen hunched over a spinning wheel.
With curiosity in mind, she begged the old woman to let her try this but as soon as she made contact with the spindle’s needle, she collapsed to the ground.
Princess Aurora in Contact with The Spindle’s Needle
The witch’s enchantment is realised but instead of dying, she goes into a deep sleep. She would now spend many years lying in the magnificent room after the king, who gave the order with a sorrowful heart. The whole kingdom was in deep sorrow and was mourning Sleeping Beauty.
Prince Philip discovers Princess Aurora in The Forest
As the years passed by, a forest grew around the castle. A lovely prince named Phillip came into the country a hundred years later while he was walking through the forest.
He was shocked to discover the sleeping beauty while investigating her, and he fell in love with her right away. He kissed her while stooping.
The princess awoke as the curse was broken. Everyone was full of joy. The whole kingdom celebrated when they came to know that she had woken from her sleep.
The prince and the princess had a lovely dance together that evening. They soon got married and lived happily ever after.
Summary
This story is about a sleeping beauty whose name was Princess Aurora. Her parents were very happy about her birth and threw a great party. In that get-together, one angry witch Maleficent curses Princess Aurora to pass away on her sixteenth birthday. Only after Prince Phillip kisses Aurora does she enter a deep sleep that can be broken thanks to her protective fairies. Phillip is taken hostage and imprisoned by Maleficent in order to stop him from saving Aurora. The only remaining chance for Phillip to be set free and awaken Aurora is through the good fairies.
FAQs on The Story of Sleeping Beauty
1. Why did the 13th fairy curse the princess?
When the princess was born, the king and the queen invited all the twelve fairies to their kingdom to celebrate the birth of their child. But the King was not able to invite the 13th fairy to the celebration. She felt insulted, and thus, she thought of taking revenge for this. Therefore, on the day of the grand celebration, the 13th fairy visited the kingdom and cursed the newborn princess.
2. How did the entire kingdom fall asleep?
On her sixteenth birthday, the young princess touched a spindle and went to a state of deep sleep due to the curse. The entire kingdom was sad and disheartened to see their princess in such a state. The 12th fairy felt sad seeing the condition of the kingdom and soon made a wish for the entire kingdom to fall asleep. Soon the wish was granted and the entire kingdom fell asleep along with the sleeping princess.
3. Did Sleeping Beauty prick her finger
Yes, princess Aurora also known as Sleeping Beauty did prick her finger when she saw the spinning wheel because she was curious to know as she has never seen anyone spin before. This curiosity of hers made her request the old woman to let her try it and then when the old woman lets her try it, she pricks her finger on the spindle and instantly falls into a deep sleep.
4. How did Princess Aurora’s curse break in sleeping beauty?
When she pricked her finger on the spindle and went into a deep sleep, the witch’s enchantment was realised. During the course of 100 years, a forest grew around the kingdom and Princess Aurora was still sleeping. When the lost Prince Philips discovered her, he instantly fell in love with her. He kisses her on her lips with affection and this breaks the curse as Princess Aurora awakes from her deep sleep.
3. What gifts did the fairies give Sleeping Beauty?
Aurora's fairy godmothers bring lavish wedding gifts: gold, silver, sapphire and diamond. With much dancing and merriment, Aurora marries Désiré and the Lilac Fairy blesses them. Aurora and Désiré will rule over the kingdom in peace and happiness.
