Briar Rose

A king and queen long for a child, and their wish is granted when the queen shows kindness to a little fish. The birth of their daughter brings great joy, leading to a grand feast attended by twelve fairies. Each fairy bestows a wonderful gift upon the little princess, who is named Briar Rose. However, the uninvited thirteenth fairy arrives in anger and casts a curse that the princess will fall into a deep sleep on her fifteenth birthday. A kind fairy softens the curse so that she will only sleep for a hundred years instead of dying. The king tries to protect her by banning all spindles from the kingdom, but fate has its own plans. On her fifteenth birthday, Briar Rose discovers an old lady spinning and pricks her finger on the spindle. She falls into a magical slumber that spreads to everyone in the palace and even the animals outside. A thick hedge of thorns grows around the palace, hiding it from view for many years. Many brave princes attempt to break through the thicket to reach her, but they all fail. After a hundred years, a young prince arrives and finds the path clear thanks to the end of the curse. He walks through the blossoming shrubs and enters the silent palace to find Briar Rose asleep. He gently kisses her, and she awakens along with everyone else in the kingdom. The couple is married and lives happily ever after, bringing an end to the long spell.