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diff --git a/25451-8.txt b/25451-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..80abd37 --- /dev/null +++ b/25451-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1876 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sleeping Beauty, by C. S. Evans + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Sleeping Beauty + +Author: C. S. Evans + +Illustrator: Arthur Rackham + +Release Date: May 12, 2008 [EBook #25451] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SLEEPING BEAUTY *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Lindy Walsh, Emmy and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + + +THE SLEEPING BEAUTY + + + + + +_BOOKS ILLUSTRATED BY_ + +ARTHUR RACKHAM + + CINDERELLA. 7s. 6d. net. + + THE ALLIES' FAIRY BOOK. 7s. 6d. net. + + ALICE IN WONDERLAND. 7s. 6d. net. + + ÆSOP'S FABLES. 7s. 6d. net. + + MOTHER GOOSE. 7s. 6d. net. + + A CHRISTMAS CAROL. 7s. 6d. net. + + THE SPRINGTIDE OF LIFE POEMS OF CHILDHOOD, by A. C. + Swinburne. 10s. 6d. net. + + RIP VAN WINKLE. 10s. 6d. net. + + UNDINE. 12s. 6d. net. + + ARTHUR RACKHAM'S BOOK OF PICTURES. 21s. net. + + THE RING OF THE NIBLUNGS. In Two Vols. Each 21s. net. + + INGOLDSBY LEGENDS. 21s. net. + + A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. 21s. net. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + + + + + THE·SLEEPING + BEAUTY + + TOLD·BY·C·S·EVANS + AND·ILLUSTRATED·BY + ARTHUR·RACKHAM + + + LONDON·WILLIAM·HEINEMANN + PHILADELPHIA·J·B·LIPPINCOTT·Co + + + + +LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN, 1920. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: BRIAR ROSE] + + + + +[Illustration: ONCE UPON A TIME] + + + + +THE SLEEPING BEAUTY + + + + +CHAPTER I + + +ONCE upon a time there were a King and a Queen who were very unhappy +because they had no children. Everything else that the heart could wish +for was theirs. They were rich; they lived in a wonderful palace full of +the costliest treasures; their kingdom was at peace, and their people +were prosperous. Yet none of these things contented them, because they +wanted a little child of their own to love and to care for, and though +they had been married several years, no child had come to them. + +[Illustration] + +Every day the King would look at the Queen and say: "Ah, if we only had +a little child," and the Queen would look at the King and sigh, and they +were both very miserable about it. Then they would put on their golden +crowns and sit side by side on their thrones, while lords and ladies +and ambassadors from other lands came to pay them homage, and they had +to smile with their lips for the sake of politeness, but there was no +joy in their hearts. And that is one of the greatest disadvantages of +being a King or a Queen, that one has always to hide one's feelings. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +Now it happened one day that the Queen went to her bath, and having +dismissed her ladies, she descended the marble steps into the water +and began idly to play with some wild rose-petals which had fallen into +the water. All of a sudden she heard a croaking voice that said: "O +Queen, be cheerful, for the dearest wish of your heart will be granted +you." + +[Illustration] + +"Who is that?" cried the Queen, a little frightened, for she could see +nobody. + +"Look behind you," croaked the voice, "and do not be afraid, for I come +only to bear you good tidings." + +So the Queen looked behind her, and there was a great frog who looked at +her with its big round eyes. + +Now the Queen was afraid of frogs, because they are cold and clammy, but +she was very polite by nature as well as breeding, so she did not show +her dislike, though she could not help shrinking back a little. + +"And do you tell me, Master Frog," said she, "that I shall have the wish +of my heart, and do you know what that wish may be?" + +"It is to have a little small child of your own," said the Frog; and the +Queen nodded. + +"Very well," the Frog went on, "do you see the green leaves of that +almond tree on the branch by the window?" + +"I do," replied the Queen wonderingly. + +"Those green leaves will fade," said the Frog, "and the winter winds +will blow them away. Then the branch will be bare, but in spring-time, +before the leaves come again, it will be covered with pink blossom, and +that blossom you shall show to a baby lying at your breast." + +[Illustration] + +The Queen gave a cry of joy. A ray of sunlight came through the trees, +dazzling her eyes so that she had to close them for a moment. When she +opened them again the frog had gone, and nothing was to be seen but the +dainty rose-petals floating on the surface of the water. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER II + + +THOSE were wonderful tidings to be spoken by a frog who came no one knew +whence and went no one knew whither. But the Queen believed that the +prophecy would prove true, and she was right, for when the Spring time +came again and the almond blossom was pink upon the bough, she gave +birth to a little daughter who was so beautiful that nobody had ever +seen her like. + +Now what joy there was in the hearts of everybody in the palace! The +King was so excited that he went into council in his dressing-gown +instead of his royal robe, and he did not care a bit when his courtiers +smiled. There was coming and going in all the halls and corridors. +Couriers on swift horses were sent out to bear the glad news to the most +distant parts of the kingdom. All the bells in the churches were rung; +flags were put out in the houses and streamers were hung across the +roadways. Then the cannons were fired, bang, bang, bang, to tell the +people that everybody was to have a holiday, so that all, from the +highest to the lowest, might rejoice in their Queen's happiness. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +"Never was there such a beautiful child," said the King, looking down at +his little daughter as she lay in her mother's arms. He wanted very much +to nurse her, but this could not be allowed, because men are so clumsy +with babies. + +"What shall her name be?" said the King. And he suggested all the +grandest names he could call to mind, for he thought that such a +wonderful child must certainly have a name to suit. But the Queen would +have none of them. + +"She shall be called Briar-Rose," said the Queen; and so it was +arranged. + +[Illustration] + +A few weeks later the christening took place. That was a splendid +ceremony to be sure, for all the lords and ladies of the kingdom were +present in their richest dresses, together with princes and ambassadors +from distant countries. The little Princess was as good as gold all the +time. She did not cry once, but opened her big blue eyes and smiled at +the glittering company as though she understood everything that was +going on. + +[Illustration] + +Outside the cathedral the roads were crowded with people waiting to see +the guests come and go. The carriages extended for nearly a mile, and as +they drove away, headed by the royal coach, in which the Queen sat with +the Princess Briar-Rose in her arms, the spectators took off their hats +and shouted and cheered. Some of the little boys perched themselves on +the branches of trees and the lamp-posts in order to get a better view, +and I have been told that there was one poor woman who saw nothing at +all, because her boy tried to climb up to an inn sign, where he dangled +in such a dangerous position that his poor old mother had to stand with +her back to the procession, holding on to his legs in a terrible state +of anxiety lest he should fall. + +At the palace, a magnificent feast had been prepared. + +Now it was the custom in those days, when a King's child was christened, +for all the fairies in the country to be invited to the christening +feast. Each fairy was bound to bring a gift, so of course it stood to +reason that the royal child would have everything that the heart could +possibly desire. + +[Illustration] + +There were thirteen fairies in the King's realm, but one of them lived +in a lonely place on the outskirts of the kingdom. There, for the last +fifty years, she had shut herself up in a ruined tower with only a black +cat to keep her company, and as she kept herself to herself, everybody +had forgotten her very existence. The result was that she was not +invited to the christening feast, and though she had nobody but herself +to blame for this, she was very angry about it. The truth of the matter +is that she was always a miserable, sour creature, with no love or +kindness in her heart, and nobody missed her because she had never given +anybody any reason to care for her. + +Well, the guests assembled in the banqueting hall of the palace and the +feast began. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER III + + +THE King and the Queen sat on a dais at the end of the banqueting hall, +and above them in a little gallery there was a band of fiddlers and +flute-players. On either side of the royal pair sat the twelve fairy +godmothers, six on the right hand and six on the left. In front of each +fairy was a golden plate and a golden casket made to hold her knife, +fork and spoon. These caskets were beautifully carved and engraved, and +each one was of a different shape. One was in the form of a ship, +another of a shell, a third in the form of a castle with turrets, and so +on; nothing more beautiful could be imagined, for they had all been +specially made for the occasion by the cleverest goldsmiths in the +kingdom, and they were the King's presents to the fairy godmothers. He +felt very proud when the fairies spoke admiringly of these caskets and +said that they would be pleased to accept them. + +Below the dais were six long tables for the guests, and there was only +just room between the tables for the servants to pass, so you may judge +how crowded the room was. Such a glittering of silks, such a flashing of +jewels, such a dazzle and splendour had never been seen since the time +of the King's coronation, and all the guests were laughing and talking +merrily. The court painter was there, of course, to make a picture of +the gorgeous scene, and was kept so busy sketching on his tablets that +he had no time to get any food, though probably he had a good meal +afterwards. + +[Illustration] + +And the nice things there were to eat! There were: + + Force-meat balls flavoured with rare spices from the East; + Sardines from Sardinia; + Tunny fish from the Mediterranean and Sturgeon from Russia; + Steaming boars' heads with lemons in their mouths; + Turkeys, peacocks and swans; + Ortolans; + Wonderful roasts and delicious stews; + Roe deer and Bears' hams; + +[Illustration] + + Sweets in all sorts of curious shapes, as, for + instance, cakes like castles with little men + made of sweet-stuff for sentries on the + battlements, each complete in gilded armour and + with a halberd over his shoulder. (A rare + sight!) And eagles carved of ice hovering over + silver dishes filled with apricots. + +Then followed the smaller dishes: + + Tiny cakes as white and delicate as ladies' + fingers; + + Birds' nests made of spun sugar (and in the + nests were eggs of marsh-mallow, and in each + egg was a tiny chicken made of caramel!); + + Figs and dates from the desert; + + Other fruits, in and out of season; + + Syrups and preserves fetched from the four + corners of the world; + + Wines cooled in snow from the distant + mountains. + +One might fill pages merely by setting down the names of all the +delicacies. + +[Illustration] + +Each dish was brought in by the servants in a kind of procession, headed +by the Master-Cook, looking as grand and solemn as an archbishop, for he +was a grave and dignified person, and of course he had a great +responsibility. The guests were served by little page-boys of noble +birth, dressed in the liveries of their masters, and these pages handed +the dishes and the wines most politely on their bended knees as they had +been taught to do. + +So the guests enjoyed themselves, and the fiddlers played, and the King +laughed at everything everybody said, because he was in a mighty good +humour, and the bright afternoon sun, shining through the western +windows, lighted up the rich hangings on the walls, and flashed upon the +jewels on fair ladies' fingers, and fell upon the marble pavement in a +pool of gold. + +And then, you know, when the merriment was at its height, something +happened! There was a sudden cry, and a harsh voice, like the croaking +of a raven, sounded through the room. + +"Be merry, my lords and ladies," cried the voice. "Laugh while you may, +but remember that tears may follow laughter." + +A hush fell upon all the brilliant assembly. The Queen turned pale and +shuddered. The King rose hurriedly from his place, and he and all the +guests turned to look at the strange figure that had suddenly appeared +in the doorway. + +They saw an old woman bent almost double with age, her grey head with +matted hair sunk deep between her shoulders. Her face was white and +twisted with anger, and her green eyes flashed spitefully. + +Slowly she advanced towards the dais, and stretching out her arm, +pointed her finger at the gold plates and the gold caskets set before +the fairy godmothers. "There's one," said she, with a harsh laugh, +"there's two, there's twelve! Did you not know, O King, that there were +thirteen wise women in your kingdom, and the thirteenth the wisest and +most powerful of all? Where, then, is the plate and the casket set for +me?" + +The King began to make excuses, imploring the angry old fairy to forgive +him for his neglect, and begging her to sit down and join them in their +festivities. "For," said he, "I am sure you are very welcome." + +"Is it so, indeed?" said the thirteenth fairy. "I am not too late, then, +though the feast is all but done. I shall eat off silver while my +sisters eat off gold, and there is no curiously-shaped casket for me. No +matter, I am content, because I am in time, and I shall dower the +Princess with the gift which I have brought for her!" And here the +spiteful creature uttered another of her sneering laughs, which made the +blood of all the guests run cold. + +By dint of much coaxing the King at last managed to persuade her to sit +down, and the feast proceeded. But a chill had been cast over the +assembly, and nothing was quite the same as it had been before. The old +crone muttered and mouthed over her food, now and again smiling to +herself as though she were cherishing some secret and evil triumph. The +other fairies cast anxious glances at her, for they feared her malice, +and the youngest fairy of all, who happened to be seated at the end of +the table, presently rose up quietly from her place and, stealing away, +hid herself behind the arras. And nobody saw her go, nor did a single +person remark upon her absence. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + +AND now came the time for the most important part of the ceremony, when +the fairy godmothers should declare their gifts to the royal child. All +this time the little Princess Briar-Rose had been quietly sleeping in +her cradle in the nursery, watched over by an old servant who had tended +her mother as a child. Now the King gave orders for the baby to be +brought into the banqueting hall. The guests ceased their laughter and +talk, and the musicians laid by their instruments. + +So the sleeping child was brought and placed in her mother's arms. How +tenderly she clasped the baby to her breast, bending over it as though +to shield it from all harm. So sweet a sight should have touched the +hardest heart, and indeed there was only one person in the room who +remained unmoved, and that was the spiteful and jealous fairy, who +looked up and bared her yellow teeth in a sneering grin. + +"Queen," said she, "your face is pale and your lips tremble. What is it +that you fear on this day of the giving of gifts?" + +But the Queen shuddered and was silent. + +Then a fairy rose in her place and said-- + +"I will begin. My gift to the Princess Briar-Rose is the gift of Beauty. +She shall have eyes like stars, and hair as bright as the sunshine of +the spring day on which she was born, and cheeks as fresh and fair as +the petals of the flower from which she takes her name. None shall +surpass her in loveliness." + +Then the second fairy rose in her turn and said: "After Beauty, Wit. The +Princess shall be cleverer than any ordinary mortal could ever hope to +be." + +"I give her Virtue," said the third. And the Queen nodded her head and +smiled, for though she esteemed beauty and cleverness, she knew that +neither was of any worth without goodness of heart. + +[Illustration] + +So all the fairies in turn named the gift which they had brought for +Briar-Rose. The fourth said that whatever the Princess put her hand to, +she should do with the most exquisite grace; the fifth, that she should +sing like a nightingale; the sixth that she should dance as lightly as +a fairy, and so on until she had nearly all the virtues and +accomplishments which even a King might desire for his daughter. But as +yet, the spiteful old fairy had not said a word. + +[Illustration] + +At last she rose and cast an evil glance round. + +"Have you all finished?" said she. "Hear, then, my wish. On the day when +she reaches her fifteenth birthday, the Princess shall prick her finger +with the spindle of a spinning-wheel, and shall immediately die!" + +This terrible prophecy made the whole company shudder. The Queen gave a +cry and hugged the sleeping baby still closer to her breast. + +"No, no! Have pity!" she cried. "Call down your dreadful fate on my head +if you will, but do not harm this innocent child." + +At this mournful appeal there was hardly one of the guests who could +keep from tears, but the old crone only mumbled to herself as though she +were uttering a spell. Then the King leapt to his feet, his hand at the +jewelled hilt of the dagger that hung at his girdle. In another moment +he might have stretched the wicked creature lifeless at his feet, but +before he could draw the weapon from its sheath, another voice arrested +him. + +"Stay your hand, O King, lest even worse befall. No mortal may strike at +a fairy and go unpunished. And, for the rest, take comfort, for your +daughter shall not die!" + +Then the twelfth fairy stepped out from behind the arras where she had +been hidden. "My gift is still to come," she continued. "As far as I +can, I will undo the mischief which my sister has done. It is true that +I have not the power to prevent altogether what she has decreed. The +Princess shall, indeed, prick her finger with the spindle of the +spinning-wheel on the day when she attains her fifteenth year; but +instead of dying she shall fall into a deep sleep; and this sleep shall +last for a hundred years, and when that time is past, a King's son shall +come to waken her." + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER V + + +SO the worst was averted, but the fate of the poor little Princess was +still terrible enough, and it was only to be expected that the King +should do his best to prevent the prophecy from coming to fulfilment. + +The first thing he did was to summon all the magicians of his own and +neighbouring countries, promising a rich reward to the one who could +show him a way to defeat the old fairy's malice. The magicians came in +scores, some with long beards reaching to their feet, some without any +beards at all, some with bald heads, and some with matted hair that +looked as though it had not been combed for centuries. For days there +were so many magicians about the palace that they were commoner than +cats, and it was impossible to enter any room without surprising one or +the other of them, sitting in deep reflection and looking as wise as +only a magician can look. But nothing came of their thinking, and one +after the other they gave up the task and departed, having first asked +for their travelling expenses. + +At last there came a wizard who was wiser and more venerable than all +the rest, and when he heard what was required of him he said he would go +home and consult his secret books which contained the magic lore of all +the ages, and which had been written by the greatest of all the +magicians, Merlin himself. + +Home, then, he went, to his cell, which was in a rocky cliff on the side +of a mountain, and having uttered the word of power which unlocked the +massive door, he entered and prepared to begin his researches. + +[Illustration] + +Now the books of magic lore which Merlin had written were in many +volumes, and everything in them was set down in alphabetical order, so +that it could be found easily. The old wizard, therefore, turned first +of all to the word _Princess_. Five hundred pages were devoted to this +subject, and, truly, there was a great deal of very interesting +information. As thus:-- + + PRINCESS: How to transform Goosegirl into. + + Spell for causing Princess to be surrounded + with high walls of bronze, which may by no + means be broken down except by the notes of a + certain trumpet (_q.v._). + +(Now _q.v._ are the first letters of two magic words which are to be +found in all dictionaries and encyclopædias to this day). + + PRINCESS: Enchanted ring for. + + A new and improved method by which she may be + changed into a fawn together with any members + of her family according to desire, and all of + them transformed back again into their proper + shape. + + PRINCESS: An excellent device for causing a + Princess to grow tall or short by eating of a + mushroom, with directions how to find the place + where the mushroom grows, and precautions to be + taken lest by over-much nibbling she disappear + altogether. + +And so on. But there was never a word about how to prevent a Princess +from falling into a charmed sleep through pricking her finger with the +spindle of a spinning-wheel. + +So when he had read all through the five hundred pages, the venerable +wizard turned to the word _Sleep_, in the hope that he would meet with +better fortune. + +And there was much reliable information under this heading also. There +were recipes for potent drugs which would cause sleep, and for still +more potent drugs which would prevent people from going to sleep, and +when the wizard came to this last he cried out eagerly, for he thought +that he had succeeded in his quest, until he read on and discovered that +the spell described was only for use on wicked Queens who had shamefully +ill-used their step-children. It is very easy to make a mistake in +magic, for it is a most complicated science. + +By the time he had read through the two hundred pages devoted to the +word _Sleep_, the venerable wizard was very uneasy, but he was a +persevering person and he did not abandon his endeavours. Merlin's wise +books having failed him, he cast about for other means to learn what he +desired, and consulted his oracle. + +Now his oracle was a stuffed crocodile hanging from the ceiling, and a +voice came from it which told him to repeat the magic formula. + +The magic formula is a sentence made up of all the sounds that are left +out of ordinary speech, and it is a fearsome thing to listen to. It is +also very exhausting to say, and after the venerable wizard had repeated +it, he was obliged to rest for several hours. Then he rose again and +drew pentagons on the rocky floor of his cave, and crossed triangles and +circles bordered with all the signs of the Zodiac. And he stood in the +middle of the pentagons and the crossed triangles and the circles and +went through all sorts of strange and secret rites, but all to no +purpose. + +[Illustration] + +But still he would not give up trying; and he went to mysterious places +in the woods and gathered strange herbs in the dark of the moon. And, +returning home, he cast the herbs into a brazier and they burnt with +flames of many colours, giving out clouds of dense smoke and a most +horrible smell. Then, as these exercises did not bring him the result +he desired, he gazed into crystals and poured ink into the palm of his +hand, and did all the other things that he had learnt to do in all the +years since he was apprenticed to magic as a very small boy. + +And just as he was going to give up the quest in despair, a thought came +into his head, and he cried aloud for joy, for he knew he had discovered +what he sought. This shows how even the most difficult things may be +attained by perseverance and patience. + +At the top of his speed he hastened back to the palace and asked an +audience of the King. This was immediately granted, for, to tell the +truth, the King was awaiting his return with considerable anxiety. + +"Well," said he, "have you succeeded in finding a way?" + +"I have," answered the venerable wizard. "My arts have not failed me!" +And he handed the King a piece of parchment on which were written the +following words. They were written in Latin to make them look more +important, but very likely it was not good Latin, for the venerable +wizard had been apprenticed to his trade at an early age, and in +consequence his classical education had been somewhat neglected. But +this was the meaning of them: + + Shall spindle prick?--then spindle burn, + No thread weave and no wheel turn; + If there's no spindle and there's no wheel, + Then no finger the spindle can feel. + +The King slapped his thigh for joy. "Why, of course!" said he. "How is +it that I did not myself think of such a simple solution? It seems to +me, Wizard, that you have easily earned your thousand crowns!" + +"Ah, Majesty," the wizard made answer, "all things are simple when once +you know them." + +And in this he was quite right. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +THE King lost no time in putting the wizard's counsel into effect. The +very next day he caused a proclamation to be written, and ordered copies +of it to be fixed on all the church doors, and in all the public places +of every town in his kingdom. This is the way the proclamation read: + +[Illustration: + + WHEREAS a certain malicious fairy, forgetful of the + duties she owes to the most high and puissant King + and Queen, rightful sovereigns of these realms, and + to the Princess Briar-Rose, their dearly loved daughter, + has, of malice aforethought, and with intent to work + grievous bodily harm to the person of the said Princess, + in the presence of the said most puissant Sovereigns + and of divers of their loyal subjects made and uttered + a prophecy, to wit: that the said Princess shall in her + fifteenth year prick her finger with the spindle of a + spinning-wheel, and that a certain dire misfortune + shall fall upon her because of that injury, to the sorrow + of her loving parents: NOW BE IT DECREED + That all spinning-wheels or instruments of spinning + whatsoever, in the possession of any subjects of the + King's most excellent Majesty, whether they be + worked by hand or by treadle or by any other device, + together with all spindles, shuttles, bobbins, and all + other accessories or appurtenances thereunto belonging, + shall forthwith be rendered up to the officers of the + King's most excellent Majesty appointed to receive + them. AND BE IT FURTHER DECREED + That if any person or persons fail to observe or obey + this edict or ordinance by unlawfully retaining any + instrument of spinning or accessory thereunto, such + persons shall be dealt with according to the full rigour + of the law, and shall suffer the penalty of death. + + Given under our royal hand and seal.] + +The issue of this proclamation caused a great deal of interest and +excitement throughout the kingdom. All the people came out of their +houses to gaze at it, for they had never seen its like before, and +though very few of them knew how to read they realised that it must mean +something very important. So they sent for clerks and scholars to read +it to them, paying a penny apiece for the service, which pennies, the +clerks and scholars, being usually extraordinarily needy persons, were +very glad to earn. It usually took about three hours to read the +proclamation and to explain it; and one must admit that it might have +been expressed in fewer words. To do so, however, would not have been +dignified, for this proclamation was what is called a legal instrument. + +The very next day into each town and village of the kingdom the King's +officers came riding. Before them went a trumpeter who stopped at the +head of each street and blew a loud call. Having thus commanded +attention he marched past the houses calling in a loud voice: + +"Bring out your spinning-wheels. Bring out your spinning-wheels!" + +So the people brought them out, not without grumbling, for a +spinning-wheel is a very useful thing to have in a house, and in those +days people spun and wove their own cloth to make their clothes. But +they were afraid to disobey the King's order. + +And the spinning-wheels were of all shapes and sizes, some of them new +and some of them hundreds of years old, and there was hardly a house +that did not possess one of some kind or another. They were all +collected together and loaded into waggons and taken to the capital, +where they were piled up into an immense heap in the public square. + +Then the King and Queen and all the court came out and watched while the +big heap was set on fire. The people came out to watch too in their +thousands, and a very fine sight it was to see the enormous flames +shooting up into the air and to hear the crackle and hiss of the burning +wood that sounded like the discharge of a hundred muskets. + +The King laughed aloud in his relief, and even the Queen smiled, while +the little Princess Briar-Rose, who was held up to a window of the +palace to see the bonfire, stretched out her arms to the pretty flames +and crowed. But the people were not very much amused by the sight +because they were their spinning-wheels which were being burnt. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +"I've had my wheel for twenty years," said one woman, "and now I've none +at all, and how on earth I can get along without it I don't know, with +six growing lads to find breeches for!" + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +"Five silver crowns my wheel cost my good man last Candlemass," said +another, "and there it goes up in flames and smoke." + +"What is a wheel if the burning of it saves our little Princess?" quoth +a third. "Come, cheer up, Mother, the King has reason for what he does +and he will not see us want." + +And this man was right. The King had no wish to oppress his subjects, +for no sooner was the pile reduced to ashes than he caused another +proclamation to be issued, saying that the owner of every spinning-wheel +should be paid for its loss. And not only so, but the King told his +merchants to buy spun yarn from neighbouring countries so that the +people might be able to weave, even though they could not spin. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + +THE little Princess Briar-Rose, of course, knew nothing of the strange +events that had happened at the feast of her christening, and the King +gave orders that nobody should even mention the subject to her. It is +not a pleasant thing to know that the fairies have decreed that one +shall fall asleep for a hundred years on one's fifteenth birthday, even +though one is to be awakened by a handsome Prince at the end of that +time. So all the lords-in-waiting and the ladies-in-waiting had to be +very careful and discreet. If they told the Princess a story, they had +to keep the word "spinning" out of it; and if they showed her a book +they had to take pains to see it did not contain a picture of a +spinning-wheel, or any reference to a distaff or spindle, lest she +should ask what they were. The King's Customs officers, on the +boundaries of the kingdom, had to examine every waggon-load of +merchandise that came into the country for fear it should contain a +spinning-wheel; and if anybody was found trying to smuggle one in he was +brought before the judges and punished. + +By these devices the King felt certain that he had averted the fate laid +upon his daughter. + +But the promises of the other wise women were fulfilled to the letter, +for the young Princess grew up to be the most beautiful, gifted and +gracious maiden in all the world. That, at any rate, was what everybody +in the palace said, from the lords and ladies down to the scullions in +the kitchen, and although people are inclined sometimes to flatter +Royalty, in this case there was reason for their admiration. + +To begin with, the Princess was as lovely as a spring morning, with eyes +of the purest, softest blue, and hair in which the rays of the sun +seemed to be entangled. When she came into a room people stopped +whatever they were doing to look at her, and everyone felt happier +because she was there. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +And her cleverness! She never had any trouble with her letters or her +multiplication table. She could cipher as easily as she could spell; she +knew the history of her own country and of every country round it; and +nobody could puzzle her with the hardest question in geography. She +could sew and embroider, and knit and paint and draw; she could repeat +poetry in five different languages; she studied mathematics and botany +and astronomy and even law. In short, there was no end to her knowledge, +and all because she had those fairies for her godmothers. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +Besides this, there were all her other accomplishments; she could play +on all sorts of musical instruments, as, for instance, fiddle and +zither, large harp and jew's-harp, church organ and mouth organ, flute +and penny-whistle, and even on the nursery comb; she could sing like a +nightingale and dance like a fairy. + +[Illustration] + +And yet she was never conceited or puffed-up, as some good-looking and +accomplished people are apt to be. On the contrary, she was always +sweet-tempered and modest, and for this reason she was loved. People may +admire good looks and a graceful deportment, and they may respect +ability, but it is only sweetness of nature and goodness of heart that +can win love. And these things were the gift of the third fairy. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +So the years passed, and at last came the day when the Princess +Briar-Rose was fifteen years of age. + +[Illustration] + +What a day that was! Everybody came to wish her many happy returns, and +she had so many presents that at least a dozen servants were kept busy +unwrapping the parcels. The King gave her a white pony with a saddle of +red velvet, and bridle and stirrups of gold, while the Queen's present +was a beautiful and costly necklace of pearls. Even the boy who turned +the spit in the kitchen brought her something, and though it was only a +little wooden shoe which he had carved with his own hands, the Princess +prized it just as much as though it had been made of gold. + +The only person who was not happy on the Princess's birthday was the +Queen, and she went about with a pale face and a look of great anxiety. + +"Come, come, my love," said the King, "what is the matter with you? +Surely you are not thinking of that foolish old prophecy!" + +"How can I help thinking about it?" the Queen answered. "I have not been +able to get it out of my mind for fifteen years, and now that the day +has come I am afraid." + +"Make your mind easy," said the King. "Nothing is going to happen. Why, +there's not a spinning-wheel within a hundred miles. I have taken good +care of that!" And he went away chuckling, to attend a meeting of his +Cabinet. But the Queen shook her head. + +[Illustration] + +Now while the King and Queen were talking, the Princess Briar-Rose was +wandering about in the castle, visiting room after room, as she had done +many times before. The castle was so big that a stranger might easily +have been lost in its maze of stairways and corridors, but Briar-Rose +knew every part of it quite well, from the great kitchens below ground, +where on feast days a score of cooks prepared the dinner for hundreds of +guests, to the topmost turret above the battlements, where the sentries +kept watch with their pikes on their shoulders. There was only one part +of the castle which Briar-Rose had never explored, and that was an +ancient tower which rose from the eastern end. The door of that tower +was always locked, and although the Princess had often tried to find +the key she had never succeeded. The servants told her that the tower +had not been inhabited for nearly a hundred years, and it had never been +entered within the memory of anybody in the castle. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +To-day Briar-Rose flitted restlessly from place to place. She peeped +into the kitchen and saw the kitchen boys turning the spits on which +whole oxen were being roasted. Then she went into the empty throne room +and saw the golden thrones side by side upon the dais, and the rich +tapestry, glowing with all the colours of the rainbow, on the walls. +After that she mounted to the battlements from which she could see over +miles and miles of her father's kingdom, and not content with that, she +ran up the staircases into the turrets and looked through their narrow +slits of windows upon the courtyard below, so far down that the people +walking therein seemed no bigger than mice. And then she came down again +and continued her wanderings, searching in all sorts of out-of-the-way +corners, until at last she found herself before the door of the ancient +tower into which she had never been. And as she looked at the door, she +gave a start of surprise and then a cry of joy. + +There was a key in the lock. + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + +IT was a rusty key, and Briar-Rose was afraid that she might not be able +to turn it, but to her surprise it turned quite easily. The heavy door +swung inward on its ancient hinges with many a creak and groan, and she +found herself in a little dark room thickly carpeted with the dust of +years. From this room a winding staircase led upward, and Briar-Rose was +just about to climb the stair when a sudden noise made her start back in +alarm. + +[Illustration] + +_Whirr!_ There was a beating of wings, a flurry and a scuffle, and past +her face flew a dark shape, with gleaming, yellow eyes. It was only an +owl who was hiding in the tower out of the sunlight, but he gave poor +Briar-Rose a great fright, and she was in two minds whether to turn back +or not, but the winding staircase looked very inviting and she wanted to +see whither it led, so gathering up her skirts to avoid any creepy +things that might be crawling about, she ran up the stairway as fast as +she could, round and round until she reached the top. There she came +upon another door. + +In this door also was a rusty key, and Briar-Rose turned it as easily as +she had turned the first. Then she pushed open the door and entered. + +She found herself in a small room lighted by narrow windows. Beneath one +of these windows was a couch, and in front of it sat an old woman with a +spinning-wheel. + +"Good-morrow, Motherkin," said the Princess. "What are you doing?" + +"I am spinning, my pretty child," answered the old woman without ceasing +her work. + +"Spinning?" asked the Princess. "Oh, do let me see! What is that thing +which goes round so merrily?" + +"That is the spinning-wheel," said the old woman. "Why, child, you speak +as though you had never seen such a thing before." + +"Indeed, I have not," said the Princess. "How interesting it is! I +wonder whether I could do it as well as you. Will you let me try?" + +"Why, of course," said the old woman, "every young girl should know how +to spin. Here you are, my dear," and she gave Briar-Rose the spindle. + +Now whether the Princess in her eagerness to seize the spindle grasped +it too roughly, or whether it was just because the fairy had ordained +that it should be so, I do not know, but anyhow the sharp iron point +pricked her hand, and immediately she fell backward on to the couch in a +deep sleep. + +And in that very moment sleep fell upon every man, woman and child in +the castle, and upon every living thing within its gates. The King, who +was sitting at the Council-board with his ministers, stopped speaking in +the middle of a sentence, and remained with his mouth open, in the act +of uttering a word, and nobody remarked the strangeness of his conduct, +for all his ministers were asleep too, just as they sat. Outside the +door the sentry leaned upon his pike. In the Queen's chamber the +ladies-in-waiting fell into a profound slumber in the very midst of what +they were doing--one as she was hemming a handkerchief, another over her +embroidery, still another while she was talking to her parrot. The Queen +slept in her chair, and a little page-boy who was singing fell asleep in +the middle of a note. + +All through the castle the charmed slumber spread. Courtiers, officers, +stewards, cooks, errand-boys, soldiers, beadles,--nay the very horses in +the stables and the dogs in their kennels were stricken motionless as +though they were dead. The flies ceased to buzz at the windows and the +pigeons to coo upon the roof. In the great kitchen the scullions fell +asleep as they were washing up the dishes, and a cook in the very act of +boxing the ears of a kitchen-knave. + +[Illustration] + +But not for a hundred years would he feel that blow, or be able to utter +the cry that was on the tip of his tongue. The dog fell asleep under +the table as he was gnawing a bone; the cat in front of a mouse-hole, +the mouse itself on the other side of the skirting-board, with its +little sharp nose outstretched to sniff the air suspiciously. Even the +spits which were turning at the fire, laden with partridges and +pheasants cooking for the Princess's birthday feast--even they ceased to +turn, and the very fire stopped flickering and the flames sank down. + +[Illustration] + +A deep silence fell over the castle. In the fields the lambs ceased to +bleat, the horses to neigh and the cows to low. The birds in the trees +were silent. One moment the air was full of the music of their +twittering; the next, all was as still as in a desert. The very wind +dropped to sleep in the woods; not a leaf stirred, and the white clouds +were motionless in the sky. + + * * * * * + +So sleep fell upon the enchanted castle and upon all within it, because +of the Princess Briar-Rose, who lay there on her couch in the ancient +tower waiting till the hundred years should be past and the Prince +should come to waken her. + +And all round the castle there grew up a hedge of thorn, tangled with +ivy, woodbine and creeping plants, so dense that from a distance it +seemed like a little wood. Higher and higher it grew, closing round the +castle like a wall until all that could be seen was the top of the +highest tower, and the flagstaff from which the royal standard hung limp +and motionless. + +And the years went by, each with its changing seasons. Spring came and +brought to the fields and woods outside the new life of leaf and flower. +The trees awoke from their winter sleep and clothed themselves +gloriously in green; the birds began to sing again and the swallows and +martins built their nests under the eaves; children laughed and clapped +their hands because they were happy in the bright sunshine, and old +people felt their hearts filled with joy when they saw the mist of +bluebells in the woods and the daffodils dancing in the breeze. + +[Illustration] + +But within the thorn hedge no life stirred, and neither flower nor tree +answered the call of spring. + +[Illustration] + +As time went on, the people who were young when the palace was enchanted +grew old and died, but they never forgot the prophecy that one of these +days the sleeping Princess should awaken; and they told the story to +their children, who told it in their turn, changing it a little because +it was only a tale to them. And so, after many years, the legend spread +abroad to neighbouring countries, and many a young prince dreamed that +it was he who was destined to break the spell and waken the sleeping +Princess. + +Now and again one would take the quest upon him and try to force his way +through the thick hedge. But no one succeeded. The sharp thorns gripped +the unhappy young men like clutching hands, and held them fast, so that +they could neither go forward nor back, and they perished miserably. +Their bones, whitened by the sun and wind, remained there as a warning +for all to see, and the creeping plants grew over them. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +A HUNDRED years passed away. At the end of that time it happened one day +that a young Prince who was hunting in the neighbourhood caught sight of +the towers of the enchanted castle rising above the dense forest. He had +never been in that part of the country before, and had heard nothing of +the story of the Sleeping Princess, so he asked the first people he met +what those towers were, and to whom the castle belonged. + +Everybody told him a different tale. One said that it was an old castle +haunted by spirits; another, that it was a meeting-place for all the +witches and sorcerers in the land, who gathered there to practise their +secret rites. + +"No, no," said a third. "That castle is the home of a giant, and all the +people in these parts are very much afraid of him, so I have been told, +because he steals their cattle and their crops, and even carries off +their children to be his servants. And they cannot go to the rescue of +those he has imprisoned in this way, because of the forest all round the +castle, which is so dense that nobody can force his way through." + +And so they went on, one saying one thing, and one another, for each +repeated what he had heard. At last an old peasant stepped forward. + +"Fifty years ago, my Prince," said he, "my father told me the story of +that castle, and since he was born in these parts, I think it was the +true story, and I will tell it you if you would like to hear it." + +The Prince nodded eagerly, and the old man went on: + +"My father said that years before he himself was born a King and Queen +lived in the castle with their daughter, the most beautiful Princess +that ever was seen. In some way or other they angered the fairies, who +put a spell upon the place and upon every one within it, so that they +fell into a deep sleep. My father said that this sleep would last a +hundred years, but at the end of that time a King's son should come and +waken the beautiful Princess and make her his bride." + +When the young Prince heard these words he felt his heart beat quickly. +Something seemed to tell him that he and no other was the King's son who +was destined to remove the spell, and he cried: "Show me the way to the +castle, for I will take this adventure upon me." + +[Illustration] + +But the old man shook his head. "I have not yet told you all, my Prince. +Many are the young men who have tried to force their way through the +thick wood that guards the enchanted castle. Each of them thought that +he, and he alone, was destined to awaken the Sleeping Beauty, and each +of them set out with high hopes; but none of them all came back, and +their bones, whitened by the wind and rain, lie among the thorns of the +thick hedge, a fearful warning to the venturesome. I pray you, +therefore, my Prince, do nothing rash, but think well before you take +upon yourself this perilous quest." + +[Illustration] + +"What," cried the Prince with flashing eyes, "shall I hold back when +others have dared? This very hour I will attempt to enter the castle, +and if I do not return, carry home the news of how I have died." + +Then without paying any heed to the words of those who would prevent him +from rushing into such danger, the eager young man set out, his heart on +fire with thoughts of love and glory. Nobody showed him the way, but he +could see the towers of the castle rising above the distant wood, and +when he entered the wood itself, and the towers were hidden, each path +he took led him nearer to the place where he would be. + +At last he came to an open glade, and there before him was a tangled +hedge of thorn, stretching in either direction as far as the eye could +see. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER X + + +AND now, as the Prince drew nearer, he could see that the story he had +heard about that terrible place was true, for held in the tangle of +briar were the bones of many unhappy young men who had tried to force +their way through to the castle. Rags and tatters of their finery hung +upon the great thorns that pointed menacingly like sharp claws. Here and +there upon the ground beneath lay pieces of rusty armour, a helmet +surrounded by a coronet of gold that once had belonged to a King's son, +a shield with a Prince's device, a sword with jewel-encrusted hilt worth +a King's ransom. There they lay, all disregarded among the blanched +bones upon the grass, and the ground-ivy spread out its leaves to cover +them. + +Not a sound broke the deep and awful silence. No bird sang, no insect +droned; there was no scurry of woodland creatures among the leaves, no +sigh of wind in the trees. In all that place only the thorn hedge seemed +threateningly alive, waiting to destroy the intruder who should attempt +to force the secret it guarded. + +Who would blame the Prince if for a moment his heart had almost failed +him? There was no gap in that hedge, and the great thorns were sharp as +dagger blades to stab his flesh. But if the Prince hesitated it was not +for long. "Have I come so far to turn back now?" he thought. "These +others who have died were brave men, and though they failed, with a +courage as great as theirs I may succeed." And without wasting another +moment the Prince began to force his way through the hedge. + +And now he noticed with surprise that those thorns which looked so sharp +and cruel became soft as thistledown as soon as he touched them, and the +trailing bramble branches did not entangle him but bent aside at his +touch as though they had been stems of grass. The hedge opened before +him, and as he went through it pink blossoms of wild roses bloomed on +the branches, until the tangled wall became a mass of flowers. + +At last the Prince found himself on the other side of the hedge in the +gardens of the castle. Before him he could see the high towers and +turrets bathed in the fresh light of the morning sun, and as he hastened +towards them he noticed that the gardens were as trim and tidy as though +they had just been tended by the gardeners. There was no moss or weed +upon the smooth paths, the turf on the lawns was as short and firm as +though it had just been mown, and in the flower-beds everything was in +the most careful order. Spring flowers were blooming there, but they +bowed their heads upon their stalks, and even the trees seemed to hang +their arms as though asleep. + +[Illustration] + +Everywhere there was the same deep silence. The air, which should have +been full of the twittering of birds, was heavy and languorous. There +was no flutter of butterfly-wings or darting of flies; the fountains on +the lawns were not playing, and as the Prince glanced over the edge of +the marble basin of one of them he could see the goldfish beneath the +water-lily leaves lying still, with never a wave of the tail or flicker +of fin. + +[Illustration] + +So he went on over the lawns and terraces and never a waking thing did +he see, but when he came to the courtyard he saw a soldier standing +there, leaning on his pike with his head bent upon his chest. At first +the Prince thought that he was dead, but his cheek was fresh and ruddy +and it was quite plain to see that he was merely asleep. In the +courtyard itself were other human forms, all still and silent. A row of +pikemen leaned against the wall and in front of them, stretched out upon +the ground, snored the sergeant who had been drilling them when the +spell came upon the castle. A young squire, with a sleeping hawk upon +his wrist, slept leaning against a sleeping horse which he had been +about to mount. Near by lay a page with a hound in leash, both sleeping +as soundly as though they never would awake, and through a window in the +stables the Prince saw a groom lying with a straw in his mouth. + +[Illustration] + +In the stables themselves a like condition of things prevailed. The +horses slept at their stalls with their noses to the mangers, standing +on their four legs just as they were when they were enchanted a hundred +years before, and on the back of one of them sat the stable-cat. Here +and there upon the ground lay grooms and ostlers, fast asleep among the +straw. + +From the stables the Prince made his way to the great kitchen where he +saw equally strange sights, and he could not help smiling when he came +upon the cook with her hand still outstretched to clout the head of the +unhappy scullion whom she had by the ear. Before the fires hung the +spitted partridges and fowls that were cooking for the Princess's +birthday feast, and at the table a maid had fallen asleep with her hands +in a large trough full of dough. She had been making the pastry for a +pie when the sleep fell upon her, and by her side was another maid who +had been plucking a black hen. At the sink a kitchen-knave was leaning +over the pot he had been scouring. + +Then the Prince went out into the great hall and saw the courtiers +asleep in the window alcoves, or stretched out upon the polished floor. +Everywhere was a silence so profound that the Prince was almost alarmed +to hear his own breathing, and the beating of his heart sounded like a +muffled drum. On and on he went, through rooms and corridors, up +staircases and down staircases, into the Queen's chamber where he saw +the Queen and her ladies as still and silent as the rest; one of those +ladies had been reading to the Queen at the moment when the charmed +sleep fell upon the castle, and the book, a History of Troy, still lay +open on her lap. Then the Prince went into the King's room where his +Majesty sat with his ministers of state round the Council board. He +almost lingered there, for it was very curious to see those nobles as +quiet and motionless as though they had been waxworks in a show. Some of +them were frowning as though in deep thought, and some smiling as though +they had suddenly remembered something clever to say. The King himself, +at the head of the Council table, had evidently fallen asleep in the +very midst of a speech, for his arm lay outstretched on the table with +pointing finger, and, by his side, his secretary's fingers still held +the pen with which he was inscribing on a roll of parchment the royal +words. + +So the Prince hurried through the castle from top to bottom until he had +glanced into every room and opened every door. And still he knew that +there was something more to see, for nowhere had he come across the +sleeping Princess. Many maidens he had seen of surpassing beauty, but +his heart told him that none of them all was the maiden whom he had come +to awaken. + +Down he went into the courtyard again and found another stairway which +led to the battlements. There stood the watchmen whose duty it was to +look out over the country and report the arrival of travellers, but +they, too, were all asleep, though one of them had his horn in his hand +as though he had been about to blow it when he was suddenly overcome by +the charmed slumber. + +From the battlements the Prince climbed, in turn, into each of the +turrets, but there was nobody in them at all, and no living thing except +the owls asleep in the crevices of the walls, and the bats that hung +head downward from the rafters. Now only one small turret remained to be +explored. It was the oldest of the turrets, almost a ruin, and plainly +long unused, for the iron door was rusty and the ivy trailed about the +walls. + +The Prince approached it with a beating heart, for there he knew he +should find what he sought. He threw open the creaking door; with +impatient feet he mounted the crazy, winding stair, opened the door at +the top and entered a little dark room. + +And then--and then he started forward with a cry of joy and wonder, for +lying on the couch below the narrow window he saw the Princess. + +She was lying upon a couch with her lovely hair spread out like a stream +of gold; and, oh! no words can tell how beautiful she was. Softly the +Prince came near and bent over her. He touched her hand; it was warm as +in life, but she did not stir. No sound of breathing came from her +parted lips, fresh and sweet as the petals of a rose; her eyes were +closed. + +For a long time the Prince stood and gazed upon her, for never in all +his life had he seen a maiden so lovely. Then suddenly he bent down and +kissed her lips. + +[Illustration] + +That was the end of the enchantment. The Princess's eyelids quivered; +languidly she moved her head and stretched out her arms. Her eyes opened +and she smiled. + +"Is it you, my Prince?" she said. "How long you have kept me waiting!" + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + +IN that very moment the charm was broken and the castle awoke. + +[Illustration] + +Instead of the profound silence there came a hustle and confusion of +noise. Clocks began to strike, doors began to slam, dogs began to bark, +cocks began to crow and hens to cluck; a breeze sprang up outside and +set the branches of the trees swaying and creaking; the doves began to +coo upon the roofs, the swallows to twitter under the eaves, flies came +out and buzzed about the window, mice squeaked in the wainscot and ran +scampering along the rafters. The fountain in the garden leapt up sixty +feet into the air, and the goldfish swam among the water-lily leaves; +ants left their nests and foraged about the paths, the butterflies +danced and fluttered over the flowers, which lifted their heads as +though to drink in the rays of the sun. In every tree in the garden a +thrush woke up and began to sing; sparrows chirped, jays screamed, +blue-tits chattered, and the chiff-chaff uttered his strange note. In +the woods a cuckoo called and blackbird fluted to blackbird in the +hedge. In the stables the horses awoke and champed at their stalls; the +cat jumped down and ran after a mouse which crept out from under the +straw. The sentry at the courtyard gate woke up and rubbed his eyes and +came smartly to attention, looking round uneasily, for he thought he had +only been asleep for a few minutes and was afraid that somebody might +have seen him who would report him to the sergeant. The pikemen also +woke with a start, and the sergeant woke too, and bellowed an order in a +loud and angry voice, for he was ashamed of himself for sleeping in +front of his men. The young squire who was going hawking fitted his +falcon's hood and mounted his steed; the page-boy with the hound went +off to his master. On the topmost tower of the castle the royal +standard, which had been drooping against the flagstaff, filled out and +waved freely in the breeze. + +[Illustration] + +The hedge which had grown up to surround the enchanted castle broke in +and disappeared; peacocks squalled and strutted on the lawns, martins +flitted to and from their nests under the eaves, pigs began to grunt, +oxen to low, sheep to bleat, rooks to caw and children to laugh and +sing. In short, all the sounds which we hear every day and all the time +and never notice, began again and seemed so loud in contrast to the +deadly silence that they almost cracked the ears. + +And in every room in the castle the people who had been lying asleep for +a hundred years woke up and went on with what they had been doing just +as though nothing had happened. In the kitchen the flames of the fire +leapt up with a hiss and a roar. The kettle began to boil, the stew-pot +to bubble, and the meat before the fire to steam and hiss as the little +boy turned the spit. + +"Take that," cried the cook, giving the scullion the clout she had +promised a hundred years before. "Take that for a lazy knave." + +"Goodness," yawned the maid who had been plucking the black hen; "I +wonder what made me drop off to sleep like that? Well, well, it's to be +hoped the cook didn't see me!" And my word, how she made the feathers +fly! + +[Illustration] + +_Miaou!_ cried the cat in disgust as he made a pounce at the mouse-hole +he had been watching, for the little mouse who had poked his nose +out a hundred years before drew it back like a flash and scampered away. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +"Dear me!" said the servant who was washing the dishes; "I do believe I +have been to sleep with this crock in my hand. It's a mercy I didn't let +it fall!" And he went on with his scouring. It was the same thing in the +dairy where the maids had fallen asleep while they were skimming the +cream and churning the butter. And the cream was not sour for all that a +hundred years had passed, nor was the butter rank. But a fly which had +been sleeping on the edge of one of the milk-pans woke up and flew down +to taste the milk, and fell in and was drowned, so he was none the +better because the spell had been taken off the castle. + +[Illustration] + +In the Queen's ante-chamber the maids-of-honour and the +ladies-in-waiting sat up and yawned and stretched themselves. Each one +of them thought that she was the only one who had fallen asleep, and +they all began to explain at the same time that they had only closed +their eyes for forty seconds. "It was the heat," they all said to each +other. "The sun is very hot for this time of year." + +In the King's council chamber the King and all his ministers woke up +with a start. The ministers rubbed their eyes and looked very sheepish, +for each of them thought that he was alone in being caught napping. + +"Your Majesty was saying . . . ?" said the Prime Minister respectfully, +leaning forward. + +"I was saying . . ." said the King. "What was I saying?" And he stretched +out his arms and yawned. "I crave your pardon, my lords. I do believe +I've been asleep. Heigho! but my joints are stiff." + +"It was but an after-dinner nap," said the Prime Minister. "Your Majesty +is overspent with the hard hunting yesterday. Is it your Majesty's will +that we should proceed with our business, or shall the Council rise +until to-morrow?" + +"Go on, my lords, go on," cried the King heartily. "My little nap has +wonderfully refreshed me. What say you, shall we pass that bill we were +discussing a few minutes ago?" + +But at this moment a page came into the room with a message from the +Queen, and as soon as he received it the King left his seat in the +council chamber and went to her. + +Alone, among all the people in the castle, the Queen had realised +immediately she awoke from her charmed sleep, exactly what had happened. +She remembered the words of the fairy godmother, and she knew that what +she had foretold had come to pass, and that the sleep from which she and +everybody else in the castle had just awakened had lasted a hundred +years. + +Her first thought was of her daughter, the Princess Briar-Rose. Where +was she, and what had happened to her? If she, too, had merely fallen +asleep, all was well, but suppose the doom first spoken by the +thirteenth fairy had taken effect? + +In a few words she told the King all that was in her mind, and without +delay messengers were sent all over the castle to look for the Princess. + +In the meantime Briar-Rose and the young Prince were talking together in +the ruined tower. For the first time she heard the story of the +enchantment, and her eyes grew round with wonder as she listened to her +lover's account of the strange things that had happened in the castle. +When he told of the great hedge and its cruel thorns, and of the many +young men who died in trying to force their way through it, her eyes +filled with tears. + +"How great their courage was," she sighed. "Oh, if only I could bring +them back to life." + +But the Prince kissed her tears away, and hastened past that part of his +tale, and presently she was smiling again and happy, because she +understood that everything had happened as it was bound to happen. + +Then the Prince took her hand and raised her from the couch on which she +had slept so long, and they went down the winding stair together and +came to the battlements, where they found a score of breathless people +who had been running up and down in search of her. + +And how surprised these people were to find her in that place, +accompanied by a young man they had never seen before! She seemed to +have grown more beautiful than ever during her long sleep, and they were +amazed by her loveliness. + +[Illustration] + +And how may we describe the joy of the King and Queen when they saw +their daughter again and knew that the good fairy had kept her word? The +King was so delighted that all he could say was "Bless my soul! bless my +soul!" And the Queen could say nothing at all, for she was weeping for +joy. + +What a feast there was that night! In spite of the hundred years that +had gone by it was still the Princess's birthday, and she was in reality +no more than fifteen years old, for time had stood still for her. So she +had her birthday feast just the same, and it was her betrothal feast +too, for the King joined the hands of the young Prince and his daughter +and gave them his blessing. + + +THE END + + + + + PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY + RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, + BRUNSWICK ST., STAMFORD ST., S.E. 1, + AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Note: + +Page 78, a closing quote was added after (can force his way through.) + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sleeping Beauty, by C. S. 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