Sleeping Beauty | The Castle That Slept for a Hundred Years | Yuejia Fairy Tale Theater

Welcome to Ye Zha Fairy Tale Theater. Tonight, settle in for Grimm's Tale of Sleeping Beauty, The Princess Called Briar Rose. Long ago, a king and queen lived without a child. They longed to have one and their wish stayed with them day after day. Every day they would sigh, if only we had a child. But however long they hoped, their wish was not fulfilled. One day, while the queen was bathing, a frog crawled out of the water and onto the bank. Your wish will come true, it told her. Before a year has passed, you will have a daughter. The frog's words came true. Before a year had passed, the queen gave birth to a daughter and the little girl was so beautiful that the king could scarcely contain his joy. The king was beside himself with happiness and ordered a grand feast to celebrate. He invited his relatives and friends along with all the people he knew. He also invited the wise women of his kingdom. hoping they would look kindly on the newborn princess and wish her well. There were thirteen wise women in the kingdom, but the king had only twelve golden plates for them to eat from at the feast. So one of the wise women was not invited, she had to stay at home. The feast was held with great splendor. When it was over, the wise women began to give the little princess their blessings, each offering her a magical gift. One gave her virtue, another beauty, and a third riches. The wise women promised her all the other good things in the world that anyone could wish for, one after another. Eleven wise women had given their blessings when, all at once, the thirteenth came into the room where the feast was held. She was the one who had not been invited, and she meant to take revenge. She entered without greeting anyone and without even looking at the people in the room. Then she shouted a cruel curse. When the king's daughter is fifteen, she will prick herself with a spindle and fall down dead. Without another word, she turned and left. Everyone in the room was shaken by the curse. The twelfth wise woman had not yet given her blessing, so she came forward. She could not undo the evil spell the thirteenth had spoken. She could only soften the misfortune that had fallen on the princess. The princess will not die, she said. She will fall into a deep sleep lasting a hundred years. To protect his dear daughter from ever touching a spindle and meeting the curse, the king gave an order throughout the kingdom. Every spindle was to be burned. As the princess grew, the wise women's blessings came true in full. She was beautiful and modest in her ways. She was kind, good-natured and very wise. Everyone who saw her was sure to love her. On the day the princess turned fifteen, the king and queen were away, and she was left alone in the palace. She wandered through all sorts of places there. She looked into whatever rooms and bed chambers she pleased. At last she came to an old tower. The tower had a narrow staircase that wound upward step by step. The princess climbed it and came to a little door. A rusty key was in the lock. She took hold of it and turned it, and the little door sprang open. Inside the little room sat an old woman with a spindle in her hand, busily spinning flax into thread. Good day, old dame, said the princess. What are you doing here? I am spinning, the old woman replied, nodding her head. The princess heard the cheerful whirring and asked, What is that thing that turns round so merrily? She took the spindle and wanted to try spinning too. But the moment her hand touched the spindle, the magic curse came true. the spindle pricked her finger. As soon as she felt the prick, she fell onto the bed in the little room and sank into a deep sleep. The sleep spread through the palace. The king and queen had just returned and entered the great hall when they too fell asleep. The whole court slept with them. The horses in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons on the roof, and even the flies on the wall all fell asleep. The fire burning in the hearth grew quiet and slept, the meat cooking over it stopped sizzling. In the kitchen the little scullery boy had forgotten something and the cook was just reaching to pull his hair. The cook let him go then fell asleep himself. The wind died away. Not a single leaf moved in the trees before the castle. A hedge of thorns began to grow all around the castle. Each year it grew a little higher. Before long the thorns closed around the castle and grew over it until it was completely hidden. From outside no one could see the castle, not even the flag on its roof. Still, the story of the beautiful sleeping princess spread through the country. Her name was Briar Rose. From time to time, a prince came to try to pass through the thorn hedge and reach the hidden castle. But no one could get through. The thorns hooked tightly together, as if a hundred hands were holding fast to one another. The young princes became tangled in the thorns and held fast. They could not free themselves, and at last they died there in misery. Many, many years passed. Then another king's son came to the country and heard an old man speak of the Thorn Hedge. People said that a castle stood behind the hedge, with a wonderfully beautiful princess asleep inside. Her name was Briar Rose. She had slept for a hundred years, the old man said, and the king, queen, and whole court were asleep with her. The old man had also heard from his own grandfather that many princes had come before. They had tried to cross the thorns and enter the castle. But each had been caught fast, unable to escape, and had died a pitiful death. The young prince said, I'm not afraid. I will go and see the beautiful Briar Rose. The kind old man urged him not to go and try to change his mind. But no matter how he warned him, the prince would not listen. By the time the prince arrived, exactly a hundred years had passed since the princess pricked her finger and fell asleep. The day had come for Briar Rose to wake. As the prince came near the hedge, he saw only great, beautiful flowers. They parted of their own accord, making a path for him to pass through unharmed. Once he had passed, the flowers joined together behind him again and closed like a hedge. In the castle courtyard, the prince saw the horses and the spotted hounds lying asleep. On the roof, The pigeons were asleep too, each with its head tucked beneath its wing. Inside the house, the flies still slept on the wall. In the kitchen, the cook's hand was still stretched out, ready to catch the little boy. The maid sat beside a black hen just as she had been about to pluck it. Farther on, the prince came to the great hall. The whole court lay asleep, and the king and queen rested beside their thrones. He went farther into the palace. It was so quiet that the faintest breath could be heard. At last he reached the tower and opened the door to the little room. Briar Rose lay sleeping on the bed. She was so beautiful that the prince could not take his eyes from her. He bent down and kissed her. The moment his kiss touched her, Briar Rose opened her eyes and awoke from her hundred-year sleep. She looked at the prince with great sweetness. Then the two of them left the little room and went down from the tower together. The king awoke. Then the queen and the whole court woke with them. Everyone looked at everyone else in astonishment. In the courtyard, the horses rose to their feet and shook themselves. The hounds sprang up and wagged their tails. The pigeons lifted their heads from beneath their wings and looked around. Then they flew from the roof and out over the open country. The flies began crawling on the wall again. In the kitchen, the fire flared and flickered, and the meat began to cook. The joint turned on the spit and sizzled once more The cook gave the little boy such a slap on the ear that he cried out The maid went on plucking the black hen Preparing it to be put on the spit Then the king's son and Briar Rose were married with great splendor They lived contentedly together until the end of their days Thank you for listening to Yerjar Fairytale Theater May the quiet of the old castle follow you into a peaceful night