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"The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood." Fairy Tales from France, William Trowbridge Larned, New York: P.F. Volland Company, 1920.

Tale Summary

A king and a queen finally have a babe. They throw a feast in the child's honor and invite all seven fairies. To commemorate the importance of the fairies, they set out plates of gold and silverware inlaid with rubies. However, an old witch shows up. She was not invited because everyone thought that she was either dead or enchanted. The king offers her his own plate, but she takes her lack of invitation as a slight and starts grumbling. When it comes her time to bestow a gift, she wills that the princess will strike her thumb and fall down dead. The youngest fairy tempers the wish and decrees that the princess will sleep for a hundred years instead. The princess grows up to be accomplished and happy. One day, she starts exploring the castle and climbs to the top of a set of very tall stairs where she finds an old woman spinning. She pricks her finger and falls down asleep. This old woman is the wicked fairy, who wants to make sure the prophecy comes true. The young fairy comes and enchants everyone but the king and queen to fall asleep to keep the princess company. A thicket of trees grows up around the palace in order to shield it from the eyes of any passing busybody. A prince comes along one hundred years later, and finds himself curious about the castle. He parts the brambles and enters the wood towards the castle because he feels he might be the prince that sleeping beauty has been waiting for. He finds her and wakes her up with a kiss to her forehead. The whole court wakes up, and the prince and princess are married happily ever after.

Ìý

Fairy Tale Title

The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

William Trowbridge Larned

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)Ìý

John Rae

Common Tale Type

Sleeping Beauty

Tale Classification

ATU 410

Page Range of TaleÌý

Book pages are unnumbered. In the linked digital copy, PDF pages 13-30

Full Citation of TaleÌý

"The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood." Fairy Tales from France, William Trowbridge Larned, New York: P.F. Volland Company, 1920.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

This version of the tale is very sweet and appropriate for small children. The prince only kisses the princess's forehead in this version. In addition, this version of the tale is quite detailed, and has a splendid description of every event that transpires. This is typical of French tales, like this one by Charles Perrault, that were written in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

Research and Curation

Shreeya Basrur, 2020

Book TitleÌý

Fairy Tales from France

Book Author/Editor(s)Ìý

William Trowbridge Larned

Illustrator(s)

John Rae

Publisher

P.F. Volland Company

Date Published

1920

Decade PublishedÌý

1920-1929

Publisher City

New York

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Book Notes

None