in past times there were a king and a queen, who said *ry day, "oh, if only we had a child!" but they n*r received one.
then it happened one day while the queen was sitting in her bath, that a frog crept out of the water onto the ground and said to her, "your wish shall be fulfilled, and before a year passes you will bring a daughter into the world."
what the frog said did happen, and the queen gave *rth to a girl who was so beautiful that the king could not contain himself for joy, and he ordered a great celebration. he invited not only his relatives, friends, and acquaintances, but also the wise women so that they would be kindly1 disposed toward the child. there were thir* of them in his kingdom, but because he had only twelve golden plates from which they were to eat, one of them had to remain at home.
the feast was celebrated2 with great splendor3（光彩，壮丽） , and at its conclusion the wise women presented the child with their magic gifts. the one gave her virtue4, the second one beauty, the third one wealth, and so on with *rything that one could wish for on earth.
the el*nth one had just pronounced her blessing5 when the thir*th one suddenly walked in. she wanted to avenge6 herself for not having been invited, and without greeting anyone or *n looking at them she cried out with a loud voice, "in the princess's fif*th year she shall prick7 herself with a spindle（轴，纺锤） and fall over dead." and without saying another word she turned around and left the hall.
*ryone was horrified8, and the twelfth wise woman, who had not yet offered her wish, stepped foreward. because she was unable to undo9 the wicked wish, but only to soften10 it, she said, "it shall not be her death. the princess will only fall into a hundred-year deep sleep."
the king, wanting to rescue his dear child, issued an order that all spindles in the entire kingdom should be burned. the wise women's gifts were all fulfilled on the girl, for she was so beautiful, well behaved, friendly, and intel*t that *ryone who saw her had to love her.
now it happened that on the day when she turned fif* years of age the king and the queen were not at home, and the girl was all alone in the castle. she walked around from one place to the next, looking into rooms and chambers11 as her heart desired. finally she came to an old tower. she climbed up the narrow, winding12 stairs and arrived at a small door. in the lock there was a rusty13 key, and when she turned it the door sprang open. there in a small room sat an old woman with a spindle busily spinning her flax（亚麻） .
"good day, old woman," said the princess. "what are you doing there?"
"i am spinning," said the old woman, nodding her head.
"what is that thing that is so merrily bouncing about?" asked the girl, taking hold of the spindle, for she too wanted to spin.
she had no sooner touched the spindle when the magic curse was fulfilled, and she pricked14 herself in the finger. the instant that she felt the prick she fell onto a bed that was standing15 there, and she lay there in a deep sleep. and this sleep spread throughout the entire castle. the king and queen, who had just returned home, walked into the hall and began falling asleep, and all of their attendants as well. the horses fell asleep in their stalls, the dogs in the courtyard, the pigeons on the roof, the flies on the walls, and *n the fire on the hearth16 flickered17, stopped moving, and fell asleep. the roast stopped sizzling. the cook, who was about to pull kitchen boy´s hair for having done something wrong, let him loose and fell asleep. the wind stopped blowing, and outside the castle not a leaf was stirring in the trees.
round about the castle a thorn hedge began to grow, and *ry year it became higher, until it finally surrounded and covered the entire castle. finally nothing at all could be seen of it, not *n the flag on the roof.
a legend circulated throughout the land about the beautiful sleeping little brier-rose, for so the princess was called. legends also told that from time to time princes came, wanting to force their way through the hedge into the castle. how*r, they did not succeed, for the thorns held firmly together, as though they had hands, and the young men became stuck in them, could not free themselves, and died miserably18.
many long, long years later, once again a prince came to the country. he heard an old man telling about the thorn hedge. it was said that there was a castle behind it, in which a beautiful princess named little brier-rose had been asleep for a hundred years, and with her the king and the queen and all the royal attendants were sleeping. he also knew from his grandfather that many princes had come and tried to penetrate19 the thorn hedge（树篱，障碍） , but they had become stuck in it and died a sorrowful death.
then the young man said, "i am not afraid. i will go there and see the beautiful little brier-rose."
