Long ago, in a faraway kingdom, a king and his lady ruled. They ruled wisely, and the people loved them. However, the royal couple struggled to conceive a baby.
One spring, the queen was sitting in the garden by the pond. She watched all the living creatures as they swirled around their newborn babies. “I wish I had a baby and could take care of it like all the animals,” sighed the queen. Suddenly she saw a frog swim up to her on a water lily. When it reached the queen, it suddenly said in a human voice, “Your wish will come true. Next spring you too will welcome a child into the world, Queen.” She jumped from the water lily into the water and was gone before the queen could say a word.
Even more incredible was that the mysterious frog’s prediction had come true. The next spring, a child was born. A little girl as beautiful as a rosebud. She and the King named her Rose.
Their joy was overwhelming, so the king decided to celebrate with the whole kingdom. He threw a feast unlike any the kingdom had ever seen. He invited everyone he could think of. Then he invited his closest family and, of course, the fates. There were thirteen of them in the kingdom, but the king had only twelve festive plates left to serve on the royal table. So he decided not to invite one of the fates.
On the day agreed upon, the feast broke out and everyone in the castle and all around it rejoiced. Then it was the time of the fates to tell the newborn princess pieces of her destiny. One by one they approached the cradle and foretold what was in store for her. One foretold that she’ll have a smile that would soften any heart, another a flair for dancing, and another a beauty that is to be unmatched far and wide.
When the door flew open and a thirteenth, uninvited fate appeared. With a wicked grin, she hurried to the cradle. “When you reach the age of fifteen, you’ll prick yourself on the spindle and die,” she shouted at little Rose. She ran away after that, as furious as she had come.
All of a sudden, the hall went silent. There was no sign of the previous merriment. The silence was broken only by the footsteps of the twelfth fate, who had not yet had time to speak. She approached Rose and said, “You won’t die from that prick. You will only fall into a deep sleep, along with the whole kingdom. The kiss of love will have the power to wake you and the whole kingdom from sleep.” The prophecy may have been softened by this, but the mood to celebrate never returned.
The king could think of only one way to reverse the evil curse of the thirteenth fate – he had all the spindles removed from the entire kingdom. Yarn was no longer spun here, it had to be imported. Time passed and from her first steps and words, Rose grew like topsy and became a young lady. Every day she had a smile on her face, she danced in the castle halls and her beauty was breathtaking. She was always happy and kind to everyone. But the older she got, the sadder her royal parents became. As her fifteenth birthday were approaching, she noticed that the Queen Mother often had tears in her eyes and was always trying to watch over her, accompanying her every step of the way. Still, everyone told Rose that everything was fine. No one dared to tell the sweet girl the truth.
The day of Rose’s fifteenth birthday came. The King and Queen took a moment away from Rose to bring her a present. Rose took advantage of the fact that no one was watching her for a while and ran around the castle. She ran through all the chambers until she reached the old tower. She climbed the spiral staircase and opened the door. There she saw an old woman doing something she had never seen before.
“What is this strange thing you are doing here?” asked Rosie.
“Spinning with a spindle, my dear,” said the old woman.
Rosie was intrigued by the spindle that was bouncing back and forth. Perhaps if she had known what it was and what she was about to face, she would have run away. But everybody was protecting her from the prophecy, so she walked up to the spindle. When she touched it, she pricked herself on it, and the evil doom was fulfilled. And with it, the whole kingdom fell into a slumber. It was no ordinary sleep, but a curse from which the kingdom could not awake.
Years and decades passed, and in the meantime, the tales of the sleeping castle spread far and wide. Occasionally, a brave man tried to enter the castle, but no one succeeded. It was not until a hundred years had passed since Rose had pricked herself on the spindle that the tale was carried to a distant kingdom where a young prince heard it. He had just come of age, and the task of ridding the kingdom of the curse seemed just right for the brave young man.
When he arrived in the kingdom described in the legends, he had to make his way through the thick rosehip bushes that covered the entire castle. Undeterred by the thorns or the effort, he cut right and left with his sword for many hours until he cut his way into the castle.
He found sleeping people all over the castle, but he could not wake them up, no matter how hard he tried. Finally, he noticed a spiral staircase leading to an open door to the tower. So he climbed the stairs and there he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. But he couldn’t wake her up either. At first the prince did not know what to do, but then he remembered the words of his beloved, wise grandmother that love will conquer evil spells. So he kissed Rose on the mouth.
At that moment the beautiful girl opened her eyes and smiled at him. The spell was broken and the whole kingdom woke up, too. Some time later, the wedding of Rose and the prince took place and no one had to worry about the spindles anymore.
