The Sleeping Beauty
Summary
- Once upon a time, there was a kind king and queen who were blessed with a baby girl, named Princess Aurora.
- A grand christening celebration was held for the princess, where she was bestowed gifts by fairies.
- Among the guests were seven fairies, each of whom bestowed a special gift upon the child - beauty, temperament, talent, wit, grace, dance, and the ability to sing.
- An evil fairy, Maleficent, who was not invited to the celebration, arrived and cast a curse on Aurora. She said that on her sixteenth birthday, Aurora would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die.
- One of the good fairies, who had not yet given her gift, used her power to alter the curse. Instead of death, Aurora would fall into a deep sleep until awakened by true love's kiss.
- To protect their daughter, the king and queen ordered all spinning wheels in the kingdom to be destroyed.
- Despite the efforts, Aurora, on her sixteenth birthday, was led to a spinning wheel by Maleficent in disguise, and pricked her finger, falling into a deep sleep.
- The good fairies placed the entire kingdom to sleep until Aurora's curse could be broken.
- After many years, a brave and handsome prince, Prince Phillip, heard about the sleeping princess and braved numerous challenges, including a battle with Maleficent who had transformed into a dragon, to reach Aurora.
- Prince Phillip kissed Princess Aurora, breaking the curse of sleep on her and the rest of the kingdom.
- They married and lived happily ever after, bringing peace and prosperity to their kingdoms.
Background to the Story
"Sleeping Beauty" is a classic fairy tale that has been told and retold across different cultures and generations. Its origins can be traced back to several different similar stories from different cultures around the world.
The earliest known version of the story comes from the narrative "Perceforest," a French literary collection dating back to the 14th century. The story then appears in Italian writer Giambattista Basile's collection of fairy tales entitled "Il Pentamerone" (1634) where it's known as "Sun, Moon, and Talia."
Charles Perrault, a French author, popularised the tale as we know it today in his book, "Histoires ou contes du temps passé" (1697), where the story is titled "La Belle au bois dormant," which translates to "The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood."
In this version, the narrative ends with the princess waking up and marrying the prince, but there's also a less well-known second part of the story that involves the prince's jealous mother.
The Brothers Grimm also included a version of the story, "Little Briar Rose," in their collection "Grimm's Fairy Tales" in the 19th century. Their version closely follows Perrault's tale but omits the wicked mother subplot.
In the 20th century, the tale was popularised globally by the Disney film "Sleeping Beauty" (1959), which largely follows Perrault's version, with the inclusion of the villainous character Maleficent.