Bed Podcast 3 - Sleeping Beauty - Bedtime Stories | Fun English Lessons #bedtimestories

Once upon a time, there lived a very kind king and queen. Every day, they wished... Oh, if only we had a child. One warm day, as the queen was by the river, a little frog hopped out of the water. He looked at the queen and croaked gently. Don't worry. Before this year is over, you will have a daughter. And just as the frog said, the queen soon had a beautiful baby girl. They named her Princess Rosamund. The king was so overjoyed. He planned a giant party and invited everyone, especially twelve wise and good fairies. He had plates for twelve. So sadly, the thirteenth wise fairy could not come. At the party, the twelve fairies gave Rosamund wonderful gifts. The first said, I give her the gift of being very kind. Another said, I give her the gift of great beauty. The third said, I give her the gift of being very smart. Just as the eleventh fairy finished, the doors burst open. It was the uninvited thirteenth fairy, and she was very angry. She pointed a long bony finger at the cradle and shouted, When the princess is fifteen, she will prick her finger on a spindle and fall down dead. Everyone gasped. The king and queen were heartbroken. But then, the twelfth good fairy, who hadn't given her gift yet, stepped forward. She couldn't stop the magic completely, but she could change it. She spoke with a gentle voice, The princess shall not die. Instead, she will fall into a deep, deep sleep that will last for one hundred years. Only the kiss of a brave prince will wake her up. The king, desperate to protect his daughter, ordered every single spinning wheel in the entire kingdom to be burned. Princess Rosamund grew up to be the kindest, loveliest girl you could imagine. One afternoon, when she was exactly fifteen, her parents were out. Rosamund was exploring the quiet, old castle. She walked and walked until she found a narrow, winding staircase leading up to an old tower. At the top was a small, locked door. She found a rusty key, turned it, and went inside. There sat a little old woman, humming and spinning thread on a strange, whirring tool called a spindle. Rosamund asked sweetly, Hello grandma, what is that busy thing? The old woman answered, I'm spinning. Rosamund had never seen one. She reached out to touch the shiny point, and ouch! She pricked her finger. Just like the bad fairy foretold, Rosamund didn't feel pain, she felt instantly sleepy. She lay down on little bed right there and fell into the deepest, most peaceful sleep. And the magic spread. The king and queen, who were just coming home, fell asleep. The horses in the stable slept, the dogs in the yard slept, the cook and the kitchen boy slept, and even the little flies on the wall went quiet. Everything stopped. Then, around the castle, a huge, thick hedge of thorny roses grew taller and thicker every year, hiding the sleeping castle from the whole world. For one hundred long years, the beautiful Princess Rosamund slept. Many, many years later, a handsome prince heard the old stories about a hidden castle and a beautiful princess named Rosamund, who was fast asleep. All the wise old men told him, Don't go! The thorns will catch you! But the prince was brave. He said, I'm not afraid. I shall go see the lovely Rosamund. The prince was lucky, because the hundred years were finally over. As he walked toward the castle, the thick hedge of thorns magically changed into a hedge of beautiful, soft, giant flowers. The flowers gently parted to let him walk through. The prince entered the silent castle. He saw the sleeping horses and dogs. He walked through the halls and saw the whole court asleep. He finally climbed the winding stairs and found the little room where Rosamund lay. When he saw her, she looked so lovely and peaceful in her sleep that the prince couldn't stop looking. He gently leaned down and kissed her cheek. Right away, Princess Rosamund opened her eyes and looked at the kind prince. She smiled warmly. And then, the whole castle woke up. The king and queen woke up, blinking with surprise. The horses stood up and shook their manes. The dogs wagged their tails. The fire in the kitchen popped back to life. The meat on the spit started turning, and the cook even finished giving the scullion the little swat he had started. A hundred years ago, Princess Rosamund married the brave prince. They lived together joyfully until the very end of their days. Now it's your turn to close your eyes and fall into a gentle sleep.