00:01Sleeping Beauty
00:09Once upon a time, there was a king and queen who lived in a beautiful palace.
00:15They had everything you could wish for except one thing, a child, and this made them very sad.
00:22But finally, after many years, they had their wish, and a little baby daughter was born.
00:28To celebrate, preparations were made for a party, and amongst the most important guests were seven fairies who were to be godmothers to the baby princess.
00:46Everyone was in the Grand Hall celebrating when there was a loud noise outside.
00:51Suddenly, the doors burst open, and an old fairy in a long black gown walked in.
00:59The king turned pale, and the queen nearly fainted, for this was the spiteful fairy, Tormentilla.
01:07The poor queen had been so busy that she had forgotten to send her an invitation.
01:11However, they all tried to make the best of it, and another chair was bought for Tormentilla, and both the king and queen told her over and over again how very, very sorry they were not to have asked her.
01:23But it was all in vain. Nothing could please her, and she sat scowling at the other fairies until the feast was over and it was time to give the presents.
01:33Everyone went into the great living room where the fairies each gave the little princess their presents, and then it was the turn of the wicked old fairy, who walked over to the cradle and said,
01:45My present is that the princess shall prick her hand with a spindle and die of the wound.
01:53At this, the queen fell on her knees and begged Tormentilla to take back her cruel words.
01:59But suddenly, the seventh fairy, who knew Tormentilla well, and had hidden herself behind the curtains for fear that something like this might happen, came out and said,
02:08Do not cry, dear queen. I cannot undo my cousin's wicked spell, but I can promise that your daughter shall not die, but only fall asleep for a hundred years, and then a prince shall come and awaken her with a kiss.
02:23So the king and queen dried their tears, and thanked the kind fairy for her goodness, and all the fairies went back to their homes, and things went on much as usual in the palace.
02:33But you can imagine how careful the queen was of her little girl, and the king made a law that every spindle in the country must be destroyed.
02:44The years went by happily enough, until Princess Miranda was almost eighteen years old.
02:50One day, the king and queen had to go away, and as the princess did not wish to go, they left her behind.
02:57Quickly, she became bored, and to pass the time began exploring all the old rooms in the palace.
03:05After much searching, she finally found herself at the top of a tower, in front of a door she had never seen before.
03:12When she opened the door, she saw a small room, where a little old woman sat with a high white cap at a spinning wheel.
03:21She watched the old woman curiously, and could not imagine what she was doing, as the princess had never seen a spinning wheel in her life, because the king had ordered them all to be destroyed.
03:31Now, the poor old woman who lived in this tower, had never heard the king's order, because she was deaf, and could not hear anything.
03:39What pretty work you're doing! Tell me, why does the wheel go whir, whir, whir? said the princess.
03:49But the old woman didn't answer, because of course, she could not hear.
03:54So the princess stepped into the room, and put her hand on the old woman's shoulder, who looked up and rubbed her eyes.
04:00Dearie, dearie me! she cried. And who may you be, my pretty darling?
04:08I'm the princess Miranda! said the maiden.
04:12But the old woman only shook her head, as she could not hear anything.
04:16Then the princess pointed to the spindle, and made the old woman understand that she wanted to try.
04:22So the old woman nodded, and the princess sat down and took the spindle in her hand.
04:27But no sooner did she touch it, than she pricked her hand with the point, and sank down into a deep sleep.
04:39Immediately, silence fell on everything, as the whole city fell asleep.
04:45All the birds stopped singing, and the king and queen, who had just returned from their journey, fell asleep as well.
04:51The sky became dark, as a magic wood sprang up all around the palace and its grounds.
04:58It was at least half a mile thick, and made of thorns and prickly plants, which seemed impossible for anyone to penetrate.
05:05And so the years went on, and on, and on, until a hundred years had passed, and the palace, and the story of it, were all but forgotten.
05:17Until one day, a king's son from a neighbouring country came riding that way.
05:27Suddenly, he found himself in a part of the country where he had never been before, and quickly became lost.
05:34He came to a woodcutter's cottage, and got off his horse to ask the way.
05:40An old man lived in the hut, and after he had directed the prince as to the best way back, the young man pointed to a thick wood ahead, and asked what was beyond it.
05:49The old man told him there was a legend that beyond the wood was an enchanted palace where a beautiful princess had been sleeping for a hundred years, and would awaken when she was kissed by a prince.
06:02As soon as the prince heard this, nothing would stop him, and he decided he must go there and see for himself if the tale were true.
06:08So he rode until he came to the edge of the wood, and then began to push his way through the thorny thicket, until at last he came to the palace, where he saw everyone sleeping.
06:27The prince walked on until he came to the narrow staircase which led to the tower in which the princess was asleep.
06:33He opened the door and saw the princess.
06:37Falling on his knees, he bent down to kiss her cheek, and as he kissed her, she opened her eyes and said,
06:44Oh prince, have you come at last? I have had such pleasant dreams.
06:50And at the same time, the whole palace was awake. Everything went on exactly as though the spell had lasted only a hundred seconds, not a hundred years.
06:59And I probably don't need to tell you that the prince and princess were married amid great celebrations, and lived happily ever after.
07:15The End
