Sleeping Beauty Fairy Tale Story

 Long ago in France there lived a King and Queen.  More than anything, they longed for a child.  At last, to their great happiness, the Queen gave birth to a little girl.  All the bells in the land were rung with joy. 

The King and Queen invited all the fairies in the kingdom to the Naming Party for the baby. And what a party it was! Plates and silverware of pure gold were set with care before each guest. But one fairy, Maleficent, who had left 50 years before and had not been seen in all that time, showed up at the door. Quickly the King and Queen found a place setting for the new guest. But alas, the plate and the silverware were not of pure gold. This made the old fairy very angry.

Soon it was time for each Fairy to give her blessing to the baby. When it came to Maleficent’s turn, she stood up and pointed her long finger at the sleeping baby girl in the cradle.

“I declare, before all of you,” Maleficent called out, “that this child, on her 16th birthday, shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and die!”

With a whoosh of smoke, the evil fairy vanished. Everyone cried out with alarm, as you can imagine. But one fairy had not yet given her blessing. The King and Queen asked this fairy, whose name was Merryweather, to reverse the curse. Merryweather shook her head sadly – that was not possible. But she could soften the curse. 

“On her 16th birthday,” she said, “when the princess pricks her finger on the spinning wheel, instead of dying she will fall asleep for 100 years.”

“One hundred years!” said the Queen. “After our daughter turns 16, we will not know her anymore!”

The King ordered every spinning wheel in the kingdom to be brought to the palace and burned. To be extra sure the princess would not be anywhere near a spinning wheel, he also ordered the fairy Merryweather, along with two other fairies, Flora and Fauna, to take the baby far away. The fairies would raise the child in a cottage, deep in the woods. There, they would keep her safe until after her 16th birthday. After that day it would be safe to bring back the princess, who had been named Aurora, to the castle.

Aurora grew up knowing no others than the three fairies, whom she knew as her aunts. The animals of the forest were her friends. 

The birds and the deer, the chipmunks and the rabbits, followed her around as she fed them treats and cooed to them.  From the time she was little, Aurora was told she must stay inside the hills that surrounded them.  She did not mind that in the least.  The woods were wide and deep inside the hills, and there was plenty of room for her to play.

One day, Aurora came home to the cottage to find her three aunts preparing for a party.  “What’s going on?” she said.

“Tonight we will celebrate your 16th birthday!” said Flora. 

“It is?” said Aurora. “That means tomorrow I go back to the castle!”

“Yes!” said Merryweather. “We have kept you safe from that spinning wheel for 16 years. Soon it will be time for you to take up your royal life as a princess.”

 “And the first thing for you will be to get married,” said Fauna.

“Married, already?” said Aurora. “Do you know who I’m supposed to marry?”

“We do,” said Fauna with a wave of her hand, “but there’s no need to worry about that. Even if he’s a bit strange, some might say a bit horrid, you won’t have to spend much time with him,after all.”

“And he does come from a fine family,” Flora added with a quick smile.

“Wait a minute!” said Aurora, pulling back. “Why do you say he’s a bit horrid?”

“It’s best not focus on such things, dear,” said Merryweather. 

“Just do everything your husband tells you to do,” said Flora, “and you will be fine.”

“This is not turning out like I thought!” cried Aurora. “How long do I have to stay married?”

“For the rest of your life, of course,” said Fauna.

“No, no, this is all wrong!” cried Aurora. She turned away, then said in a firm voice, “I would rather prick my finger on a spinning wheel and fall asleep for 100 years than have to marry someone I don't want to marry! Maybe by the time I wake up, people won’t have to get married if they don’t want to!” And she ran out the door.

“Dear me,” said Merryweather to the other two fairies. “I don’t believe that went over very well.”

Aurora ran deep into the woods where her animal friends lived. 

A deer hopped beside her, along with the rabbits and chipmunks. “We have to get out of here,” she said to all of them. Then pointing to a mountain pass, she said, “We will go right through the hills.”

Soon Aurora came to a road. In the distance was a carriage, coming closer to her. As the rider approached, her animal friends scattered.

“Hail!” said the stranger. “I’m afraid my carriage scared away your pets. May I give you a lift?”

Aurora had never seen a man before. But she couldn’t think about that – unless she could find a spinning wheel, the very next day her aunts would take her back to the palace. 

“Actually,” said Aurora to the stranger, “there is something I need a great deal.”

“What’s that?” said the stranger, hopping out of the carriage. Very nicely dressed was he, and well mannered, too.

“A spinning wheel,” said Aurora.

“A spinning wheel!” said the stranger. “But there are none left in the land – everyone knows that.”  

“Well, you see,” said Aurora, rubbing her hands together, “I have this friend. She needs a spinning wheel in the worst way.” Aurora looked directly at the stranger. “It’s a matter of life or death.”

The stranger looked at Aurora’s eyes. At last, he said, “I may know of one,” he said. “But this needs to stay between you and me.” The stranger stepped closer. 

“Not far from here lives an old woman who spun yarn all her life. When the orders came to burn all the spinning wheels, she could not bear to let go of her beloved spinning wheel since it had been in her family for many years. She came to me,” he said, pointing down the road, “as I’m a prince from the next kingdom. She begged me to let her store it away safely. So I put it in the attic room of my castle tower, where no one ever goes, until the 16 years had passed.”

“She begged me to let her store it away safely,” said the prince.

 

“Would you take me to your castle tower?” said Aurora.

“I shouldn’t,” said the prince. Then after a moment, he said, “But I will.”

She stepped onto his carriage. Soon they were at the tower, and they both stepped out. The prince said, “This is not for your friend, is it?”

“Thank you for taking me here,” said Aurora. “I will always remember your kindness. Now if you please, I must do what I must do.”

Aurora turned and went up the tower stairs to the very last stair. The door in front of her creaked open. Inside, all was dark and musty. She could barely take a step for all the spider webs. But she pushed them aside and stepped forward. There, in a far corner, was the spinning wheel. From a small window, she could tell the sun was already setting. “I hope this works,” she said, “before it’s too late.”

Aurora held out her finger to the tip of the spindle. She pricked her finger on that spindle. One tiny droplet of blood dripped from her finger. At once, Aurora felt dizzy. She fell onto an old dusty velvet blanket that lay on the attic floor, and fell into a deep sleep. Moments later, all the others in the castle, servants and royals alike, fell asleep too, and so did the prince, who was still waiting for her outside the tower. Within hours, thorns and vines had sprung up and wrapped around the castle, so thickly that no human or beast could pass through.

For 100 years, Aurora and the others slept. 

After 100 years had passed, Aurora blinked her eyes awake. Then all the others in the castle also awoke. Everyone started to do what they had been doing when they had fallen asleep 100 years before. The thorns and vines around the castle melted away.

Aurora stepped down the tower stairs to find the prince.

Together, they stepped into the prince’s carriage. Down the road to the market square, they discovered a whole new world. Bicycles and streetcars, cameras and streetlights – such marvels to behold! 

Perhaps best of all, they learned that in this strange new time, it was quite all right for young women and men to get to know each other, if that’s what they wanted to do, and even perhaps to fall in love. As Aurora and the Prince took each other’s hand to explore this wonderful new world together, that is exactly what they wanted to do.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Story

 Once upon a time, a princess named Snow White lived in a castle with her father, the King, and her stepmother, the Queen.  Her father had always said to his daughter that she must be fair to everyone at court.  Said he, “People come here to the castle when they have a problem.  They need the ruler to make a fair decision.  Nothing is more important than to be fair.”

The Queen, Snow White’s stepmother, knew how much this meant to her husband. At the first chance, she went to her magic mirror.  “Mirror, mirror, on the wall,” said the Queen.  “Who is the fairest of them all?”

“Snow White is the fairest of them all!” said the Magic Mirror.

 “What?!” yelled the Queen.  “No one is more fair than I!  The Queen must have the best of everything - everyone knows that.  What could be more fair than that?”

“Snow White is the fairest of them all!” repeated the Magic Mirror.

 “What do you know – you’re a mirror!” roared the Queen.  And she stormed off. 

Still, the Queen was bothered.  So bothered was she that the Queen decided to be rid of the girl, once and for all. 

“I cannot wait another day!” she declared.  The Queen called for her servant, a huntsman.  “Find a reason to take Snow White deep into the woods,” she said, pointing her long finger at the servant. “Then kill her.”

The huntsman was shocked!  But she was the Queen and what could he do?  The next day he took Snow White into the woods.  As he drew his knife to slay her, Snow White turned around.

“Look,” she said, taking something out of her pocket.  “You have always been good to me.”  She held in front of him six perfect arrowheads that she had carefully shaped.  “Do you like them?” she said.  “They are for you.”

“Snow White,” said the huntsman.  “I cannot do this!”

“You can take these,” said Snow White.

"That's not what I mean," said the servant.  He dropped to his knees.  “How can I say this to you?  The Queen, your step-mother, ordered me to kill you,” he said.  “But I cannot!”

“She did what?” Snow White called out with alarm.

“You must run away!” said the huntsman.  “Far into the woods.  Now!  And never come back to the castle!”

Snow White turned and ran into the woods as fast as she could.  Deeper and deeper she ran.  It was getting dark, and the wolves were starting to howl.  She tripped and her skirt was torn.  Tall tree branches seemed to reach down to the very ground to grab her.  She was scratched, bleeding and scared.  Yet she ran on and on.

Then all of a sudden, far away, there was a light.  Who was living so deep in the woods?  She stepped up closer.  It was a cottage!  Yet no sound came from the cottage, only light from the windows.

“Hello?” she said, knocking softly on the door.  “Hello?” No answer.  The door was a little bit open.  She opened it some more and stepped in.  “Hello, is anyone home?” 

She looked around.  What a mess!  She had never seen a messier living room.

“This cottage may be the biggest mess I ever saw,” she thought.  “But it's a roof over my head for tonight. Maybe if I clean up around here, I can earn my sleep.”

As she cleaned, she thought of someone she already missed.  Before her father had re-married, she and a Prince who lived in the next kingdom were getting to know each other.  They would take long walks in the royal garden and tell each other stories, and laugh.

After the Queen had moved into the castle, her stepmother had made a new rule – no more visitors.  Now the Prince had to slip over the palace gate in secret. He would call out to her from under her window and they could talk a bit that way. It wasn’t as good as the long walks but it was the best they could manage.  

Now that she had to run away from home, would she ever see him again?

After Snow White cleaned up the living room, she went upstairs.  On the second floor, there were seven little beds lined up in a row, as if for children.  Tired from cleaning, Snow White yawned and lay across all seven of the beds.  Soon she fell fast asleep.

In the meantime, the Seven Dwarfs were heading home from a long day of working in the jewel mines.  When they opened the door, you can imagine their surprise when they saw their cottage all cleaned up!

“What kind of magic is this?” said one of the Dwarfs, whose name was Doc.

“I wouldn’t mind more magic like this!” said another of the Dwarfs with a smile.  His name was Dopey.

“We'd better check upstairs,” said another Dwarf, whose name was Grumpy.  “Something is fishy around here, that’s for sure.”

There – lying across all their beds, was a young lady, fast asleep. 

“Who are you?” said all the Dwarfs at once. 

Snow White bolted awake.  The Seven Dwarfs could tell she was as surprised as they were.  Soon they all relaxed and shared their stories. 

Snow White learned their names – Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy. She told them all about her step-mother.  That her stepmother had tried to get the huntsman to kill her, that the huntsman had set her free in the woods, and that she could never go back home again.

“Stay here, with us,” said Bashful. 

“That’s sweet,” said Snow White.  “But if I were to stay here at your home, I would have to do something for all of you.”

“You already cleaned up our place,” said Sneezy. 

“Keeping the house clean will be easy,” said Snow White, “as long as we all pitch in.  I will let everyone know what part they can do, and I will do my share too, of course.”

“That’s fair,” said Happy.

“But there must be something else I can do for you,” said Snow White.

The Seven Dwarfs shrugged.

“Do you know how to read?” said Doc.  "We have these books filled with wonderful tales and would love to be able to read them." And so it was agreed that Snow White would give them reading lessons.   

To celebrate their new friendship, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sang and danced the night away. 

The next morning before they left for work, the Seven Dwarfs warned Snow White she must not open the door to anyone.  After all, who knows what evil her stepmother might do?  The princess nodded in agreement, and the Dwarfs left the house.  The princess prepared her first reading lesson. She also prepared a good hot meal for the Seven Dwarfs when they returned home that night.  And so the days passed.

Back at the castle, the Queen marched up to her mirror.  “Mirror, mirror on the wall," she demanded.  "Who is the fairest of them all?”

“Snow White is the fairest of them all!” said the Magic Mirror.

“That’s impossible!” screamed the Queen.  “The girl is no longer alive!”

“Snow White lives!” said the Magic Mirror.  And an image was shown on the mirror of Snow White living in the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs.

The Queen turned red with rage.  She screamed, “She will not get away with this!”

At the cottage of the Dwarfs the next afternoon, when the Seven Dwarfs were away at work, there was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” said Snow White.  She remembered the warning of the Seven Dwarfs not to open the door to anyone.

“It’s only a poor old woman,” came a squeaky voice, “selling apples.” Yet it was the evil Queen, disguised as an old woman.  “It’s raining out here, my dear,” said her voice through the door.  “Please let me in.”

“Poor thing," thought Snow White, "having to go door to door selling apples in the rain."  And so she opened the door.

“Take a look at this big red apple,” said the old woman, who as you know by now was really the Queen in disguise. She held the red apple close to Snow White’s face.  “Lovely, my dear, isn’t it?”

“I would like very much to buy your apple,” said Snow White. “But I have no money.”

“That fine comb in your hair will make a good trade,” said the old woman.

“Well, all right then!” said Snow White.  She took the comb out of her hair and gave it to the old woman, who then gave her the apple.  Snow White took a big bite.  Alas, the fruit was poisoned!  At once, Snow White fell to the ground in a deep sleep. 

“YES!” shouted the Queen, pumping the air with her fists. 

Just then the door flew open.  In marched the Seven Dwarfs, home from the day's work.  Shocked indeed they were to find Snow White lying on the floor and what must be her stepmother beside her, laughing!

They chased that evil Queen out the door, and into the storm.  Up to the very top of a mountain they chased her.  All of a sudden, lightning hit the mountain!  The Queen fell, and she was never seen again.

But there was nothing to help poor Snow White.  She stayed absolutely still in her deep sleep.  The Seven Dwarfs gently lifted her into a glass coffin.  Day and night they kept watch over her.

One day, the Prince happened to pass through.  Ever since he had learned that Snow White was missing at the castle, he was searching for her, far and wide.  Now he had finally found her, but in such a state! The Prince pulled open the glass coffin.  Her face seemed so fresh, even in that deep sleep. 

He gently took one of Snow White's hands in his own and kissed it.  At once, Snow White’s eyes opened!  With Love's First Kiss, the evil Queen's spell was forever gone. Now nothing stood in the way for Snow White and the Prince to be together forever.  They returned to the kingdom and lived happily ever after.

The Enormous Turnip

 An old man planted a turnip. The turnip grew and grew. It grew to be the enormous turnip. The old man started to pull the turnip out of the ground. He pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So he called over the old woman.

The old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So the old woman called over the granddaughter.

The granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So the granddaughter called over the dog.

The dog took hold of the granddaughter, the granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So the dog called over the cat.

The cat took hold of the dog, the dog took hold of the granddaughter, the granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled, but couldn't pull it out. So the cat called over the mouse .

The mouse took hold of the cat, the cat took hold of the dog, the dog took hold of the granddaughter, the granddaughter took hold of the old woman, the old woman took hold of the old man, the old man took hold of the turnip, they pulled and pulled--and finally--out came the enormous turnip!