The Sleeping Beauty

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

25451

Title

The Sleeping Beauty

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A timeless fairy tale of royal longing, magical prophecy, and enduring love. When a spiteful fairy curses a princess to sleep for a hundred years, a brave prince awakens her, restoring life to an enchanted kingdom. With Arthur Rackham's classic illustrations, this story offers a charming, romantic appeal perfect for all ages.

Summary up to 500 words

In C. S. Evans's retelling of *The Sleeping Beauty*, a childless King and Queen are miserable until a prophecy from a talking frog promises them a daughter. Their beautiful child, Briar-Rose, is christened by thirteen fairies. However, the thirteenth fairy, excluded from the feast due to her reclusive nature, curses the princess to prick her finger on a spindle and sleep for a hundred years. To avert this fate, the King issues a strict decree destroying all spinning wheels in the kingdom and banning the word from the princess's hearing. Despite these precautions, Briar-Rose, unaware of the danger, explores a forbidden, locked tower. Inside, she encounters an old woman spinning and, out of curiosity, touches the spindle, instantly falling into a deep slumber that spreads throughout the entire castle. Every inhabitant, from the King in council to the horses in the stables, freezes in their tracks, while time itself halts. A prince arrives, finds the sleeping beauty, and awakens her with a kiss. The spell breaks, the castle erupts into life, and the hundred years vanish in an instant. The princess, now fifteen, celebrates her birthday and betrothal feast with her parents and the prince, fulfilling the prophecy while overcoming the curse of isolation.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

Download URL

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25451.epub.noimages

Local file path

data/epubs/pg25451.epub

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Downloaded at

2026-07-04 15:00 UTC

Categories

• Folklore
• Fairy Tales