"She shall be wise ,"said the second.

"She shall be good,"said the third.

"She shall be kind ," said the fourth.

The gifts continued in this way, wishing all that was good for Briar Rose. Eleven of the twelve fairies had given their gifts when the room suddenly went dark. After a great flash of light a small dark figure stood in front of the King and Queen.

It was the thirteenth fairy.

"why wasn't I invited to the christening?" she screamed.

She was furious at being left out.

"All the fairies of the kingdom have given their blessings. Well, here's mine for the Princess. On her sixteenth birthday she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die."

Another flash of light and the fairy was gone.

"But we thought she was dead," said the King. "What can we do ?"

The Queen was in tears.

The twelfth fairy stepped forward.

There is still my gift for Briar Rose," she said. "The fairy's curse cannot be undone, but I can change it a little. She will fall into a deep sleep that will last one hundred years," There was a great hubbub in the hall as everyone discussed the events.

The following day the King issued a proclamation, ordering that all spinning wheels and spindles were to be destroyed. Throughout the land there were great fires as the spinning wheels were burned.

上一页
阅读全文