Chapter 6.
Briar Rose.
Long long ago there lived a king and queen who wanted to have a child more than anything else.
One sunny day, the queen was sitting by a stream.
A frog jumped out of the water and said, Your wish will be granted.
Before this year is over, you'll have a daughter.
The queen was surprised.
How strange, she thought as she walked home.
Maybe it will come true, the king said when he heard the story.
Stranger things have happened.
They laughed and thought no more of it.
But then, one day, the queen became pregnant.
The royal couple was overjoyed.
The queen gave birth to a little girl.
The frog's words came true.
When the king saw his beautiful daughter for the first time, he was so happy.
He ordered there be a great feast in the kingdom to celebrate.
The king thought about whom he should invite.
Among his subjects were thirteen wise women.
These fairies were famous for granting wishes.
The king wanted to make sure they would always be kind to his daughter.
However, there was one problem.
The king had only twelve golden plates. one of the wise women would have to stay behind.
The king invited his friends, family, and twelve wise women.
Soon the feast day arrived.
All day, the king entertained his guests with delightful music and wonderful food.
People marveled at the happy, healthy baby they called Rose.
When the evening was coming to an end, the twelve wise women offered their magic gifts to the princess.
The first wise woman twirled over to the cradle and gave the princess goodness.
The second one gave her eternal beauty.
The third wise woman gave her wealth.
This continued until eleven of the wise women had given their gifts.
The girl already had everything anyone could ever want.
Then the twelfth wise woman stood up to give her gift to the baby.
But before she approached the cradle, the thirteenth wise woman, the one who was not invited, arrived in a cloud of smoke and fire.
She was a very angry fairy and could not believe she had not been invited to the feast.
This wise woman had a wicked gift.
When this child turns fifteen, she told the king and queen she will prick her finger on a spindle and fall down dead.
The moment she had finished the curse, the fairy disappeared.
The entire dining hall fell silent.
The king and queen shook with fear and horror.
The queen turned to the king with shock in her eyes.
What shall we do?
The king called out to the twelfth wise woman.
You have not yet given your gift, wise woman.
What chance do we have that you can save our beloved Rose?
She answered.
Sadly, our magic cannot be reversed, but I can alter the curse.
When the princess pricks her finger at age fifteen, she will not die.
Instead, she will fall into a deep sleep that will last for one hundred years.
The morning after the feast, the king ordered all of the spindles in the kingdom to be destroyed.
He said to his wife If there are no spindles, there is no way our darling Rose will prick her finger.
As the years passed, all of the wise women's gifts came to be for the young princess.
She grew up to be good, beautiful, bright, and charming.
On the morning of her fifteenth birthday.
The king and queen would not let Princess Rose out of their sight.
As the family sat down for a birthday lunch, a servant ran into the dining hall.
Almost out of breath, he told the king there was an emergency.
Only the king and queen could attend to the problem.
They fled from the dining hall to handle their royal duties.
The princess was left all alone.
She roamed around the castle, poking her head into room after room.
There were many places in the castle where Princess Rose was normally not allowed to go.
She came up a stairwell that led to an old tower.
What is this?
Rose said.
Curiosity pulled her up the stairs.
She found an old door with a rusty key in the lock.
The princess turned the key, opened the door, and stepped in. into a tiny room.
An old woman was sitting there, spinning wool at a spindle.
Good afternoon, the princess said.
What are you doing?
The old woman replied, I'm spinning wool.
Rose watched the strange machine dip up and down.
She became even more curious.
What is this?
She asked as she reached forward to touch the needle.
Before the princess could say another word, she pricked her finger on the spindle.
Immediately the princess fell to the floor and a deep sleep came over her.
The spell spread throughout the castle, putting everyone to sleep.
Even the king and queen who had just returned fell to the floor instantly.
The horses fell asleep in their stables.
The dogs fell asleep in the courtyard.
Even the wind stopped blowing.
Twelve wise woman's words had come true.
Many years passed.
The castle and everything inside it slept.
A thorny briar bush grew thick and tall around the castle.
Every year it grew taller.
Over time it grew so tall and thick that it was impossible to see even the flags on the castle's towers.
Stories spread across the land about the beautiful Briar Rose trapped asleep in the castle.
Year after year, princes would come from far away and try to force their way through the thick briar bush.
None could ever make it through.
One day, another young brave prince heard the story of Briar Rose.
I'm going to find the castle and free the princess, he exclaimed.
The prince finally arrived after months of searching, but he did not find a giant briar bush there, as other princes had.
Instead, he found a path of beautiful flowers leading his way to the castle.
Inside the courtyard, he found the sleeping dogs and the sleeping horses.
He found a sleeping cook fallen over his hundred-year-old stew.
Even the flies were not moving.
King and Queen were asleep next to their thrones.
The prince searched every room in the castle.
The ballroom, the dining room, the kitchen, the bedrooms.
He made his way down hallway after quiet hallway.
The very disappointed prince was about to give up on ever-finding Bride Rose.
I'll take one last look, he thought to himself, and then I must go.
He kicked open an old door that led to a dusty hallway.
At the end, he found the staircase that led to the tower.
The prince slowly climbed up the dark stairs.
The rusty key was still in the lock.
He opened the door.
A girl lay on the floor.
It had to be Briar Rose.
The girl was so beautiful that he could not look away from her. in his arms.
Before he could stop himself, he bent down and kissed her very gently on the cheek.
His warm heart and kind thoughts immediately broke the sleeping spell.
Briar Rose suddenly woke up, opened her eyes and smiled at him.
Without a word, he took her hand and led her down the stairs of the tower.
As they walked through the castle, everything and everyone began to wake up.
Doves freed their heads from underneath their wings.
The horses shook themselves awake.
The dogs wagged their tails slowly at first.
Rose saw her parents, the king and queen, rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
She threw her arms around them.
This is the prince who woke me from the slumber, she said to the king and queen.
Lovely to meet you, your highnesses, he bowed to them.
If I may, I would like to marry your daughter.
The king and queen approved at once.
The two couples walked through the castle, each arm in arm.
They passed by the kitchen, and the fire started up again.
The royal cook woke up.
He began to make a delicious stew, for now he had to prepare for a great feast.
The king would soon call for a great celebration to honor the marriage of this young brave prince to the lovely Briar Rose.
