The Princess Who Slept for a Hundred Years

Once upon a time, a king and queen had a beautiful baby girl. They were SO happy!

"Let's have a party!" said the King. "We'll invite everyone in the kingdom!"

They invited twelve good fairies to give the princess special gifts. Each fairy brought something wonderful.

"She will be kind," said the first fairy, waving her sparkly wand.

"She will be brave," said the second fairy.

"She will sing like a bird," said another.

But OH NO! They forgot to invite one mean fairy. Her name was Griselda, and she was VERY grumpy.

Griselda stomped into the party. STOMP, STOMP, STOMP! Her black cape swished behind her.

"You forgot ME!" she shrieked. "Now I have a gift for the princess too. When she turns sixteen, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall down DEAD!"

POOF! Griselda disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.

The Queen started to cry. The King looked very worried.

But wait! One young fairy had not given her gift yet.

"I cannot stop the mean magic," she said softly. "But I can change it. The princess will not die. She will only sleep for a hundred years. Then a prince's kiss will wake her up."

The King tried to keep his daughter safe. "Burn every spinning wheel!" he ordered. "Not one spinning wheel in the whole kingdom!"

The princess grew up happy and safe. She loved to dance and sing. She was kind to everyone she met.

On her sixteenth birthday, Princess Rose was exploring the castle. She ran up some twisty stairs she had never seen before.

"What's up here?" she wondered.

At the top was a little room. Inside sat an old woman with a strange wooden wheel that went round and round.

"What are you doing?" asked Rose.

"I'm spinning thread, dearie," said the old woman. But it was really Griselda in disguise!

"Can I try?" asked Rose. She reached out her hand.

PRICK! The sharp spindle poked her finger.

"Ouch!" said Rose. Then her eyes closed. She fell onto a soft bed, fast asleep.

At that very moment, everyone in the castle fell asleep too! The King dozed at his desk. The Queen napped in her chair. The cook snored in the kitchen. Even the dogs and cats curled up and slept.

Thick, thorny vines grew up around the castle. They twisted and curled, higher and higher, until the castle disappeared behind a wall of green.

Years passed. Ten years. Twenty years. Fifty years. A hundred years!

Many brave princes heard the story. They tried to cut through the thorns, but the vines were too thick and prickly.

Then one day, exactly one hundred years later, a kind prince was riding through the forest.

"What's that?" he said, seeing towers behind the vines.

As he rode closer, something magical happened. The thorny vines opened up like curtains! They made a path just for him.

The prince walked through the quiet castle. He saw sleeping guards and snoring servants. He climbed the twisty stairs.

There in the little room lay the most beautiful princess he had ever seen.

"She looks so peaceful," whispered the prince. He knelt down and gently kissed her forehead.

Rose's eyes fluttered open. "Oh!" she said. "I had the longest dream!"

At that moment, everyone in the castle woke up! The King stretched and yawned. The Queen rubbed her eyes. The cook started making breakfast. The dogs barked and the cats meowed.

"What happened?" everyone asked.

Rose and the prince told the whole story. The King and Queen were so happy to see their daughter awake!

"Will you marry me?" asked the prince. "I think I've loved you my whole life."

"Yes!" laughed Rose. "Though I've been asleep for most of YOUR whole life!"

They had the biggest, happiest wedding the kingdom had ever seen. And Princess Rose and her prince lived happily ever after.

THE END