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FAIRY  MOONBEAM'S 


CHILDREN   S     BOOK 
COLLECTION 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


The  Princess  fainting,  after  piercing  her  hand  with  the  Spindle. 

THERE  were,  many,  many  years  ago,  a  king  and  queen 
who  bad  no  children,  which  made  them  very  unhappy  in- 
deed. Hoping  by  some  means  or  other  to  have  an  heir, 
they  agreed  to  consult  all  the  fairies  they  could  hear  of : 
rows,  pilgrimages,  every  thing  was  tried,  but  without 
success. 

Some  time  after  this,  it  was  proclaimed  that  the  queen 
was  going  to  have  a  child,  and  shortly  after  a  princess  was 
born.  The  christening  was  the  most  sumptuous  imagina- 


leaping  Beauty  conveyed  to  her  couc 


able  ;  and  seven  fairies,  being  all  that  could  be  found  in  the 
country,  were  invited  to  be  her  godmothers;  so  that  each  of 
them  might  bestow  upon  her  a  gift,  as  was  the  custom  in 
those  days. 

When  the  ceremony  of  baptism  was  over,  a  splendid 
entertainment  was  prepared  for  the  fairies  ;  before  each  of 
whom  was  set  a  magnificent  cover  of  massive  gold,  with 
knife,  fork,  and  spoon,  set  with  diamonds  and  rubies,  all 
of  the  most  curious  workmanship. 

As  the  company  were  about  to  place  themselves  at  the 
table,  an  old  fairy,  who  had  been  forgotten  for  many  years, 
entered  the  banquet-room.  The  king  immediately  ordered 
a  cover  to  be  brought  for  her,  but  it  could  not  be  of  mas- 
sive gold,  because  only  seven  had  been  made. 


3 

The  old  fairy,  seeing  that  her  cover  was  not  so  handsome 
as  those  of  the  other  fairies,  muttered  that  she  would  be 
revenged.  A  young  fairy,  who  sat  near  her,  and  heard  her, 
resolved  to  prevent,  as  far  as  she  could,  the  harm  intended 
by  the  old  fairy.  The  fairies  now  began  to  bestow  their 
gifts  on  the  infant  princess  ;  the  first  said  that  she  should 
be  most  beautiful  ;  the  second,  that  she  should  be  very  wit- 
ty; the  third,  that  she  should  have  enchanting  grace  ;  the 
fourth,  that  she  should  dance  delightfully  ;  the  fifth,  that 
she  should  sing  like  a  nightingale  ;  and  the  sixth,  that  she 
should  excel  in  playing  on  every  musical  instrument. 

The  old  fairy  now  stepped  forward  and  said,  "The  prin- 
cess shall  pierce  her  hand  with  a  spindle,  and  die  of  the 
wound."  The  young  fairy,  who  had  concealed  herself  till 
just  now,  stepped  forward  and  said,  "Do  not  afflict  your- 
selves, O  king  and  queen,  the  princess  shall  not  die  of  her 
wound  ;  she  shall  only  sleep  for  a  hundred  years,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  she  shall  be  awakened  by  an  amiable 
young  prince." 

The  king,  anxious  to  prevent  the  injury  to  his  daughter, 
caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  that  no  person  should  hereafter 
use  a  spindle. 

As  the  princess  grew  up,  all  the  graces  bestowed  upon 
her  began  to  show  'themselves,  and  she  became  more  and 
more  engaging.  One  day,  she  went  into  an  apartment  in 
a  remote  part  of  the  palace,  in  which  an  old  woman  was 
spinning  with  a  spindle.  The  princess,  never  having  seen 
one  before,  took  the  spindle,  and  the  end  of  it  pierced  her 
hand  ;  when  she  instantly  fell  into  a  profound  sleep. 

The  old  woman  was  greatly  frightened,  and  called  for 
assistance  ;  her  cries  speedily  brought  the  king  and  queen, 
who  had  the  princess  removed  to  her  own  apartment,  and 
laid  on  a  couch.  The  kind  fairy  who  had  saved  her  from 
death,  now  appeared,  and  waving  her  wand,  caused  every 
person  in  the  palace  to  fall  asleep,  so  that  they  might  awake 
with  the  princess,  and  be  ready  to  attend  her,  when  her 
long  sleep  was  over. 


The  splendid  Banquet  given  to  tl 


Many  years  passed  away,  and  a  dense  forest  grew  up 
around  the  palace,  which  almost  hid  it  from  view.  When 
the  hundred  years  had  elapsed,  a  prince  and  his  followers 
were  hunting  near  the  spot  ;  and  as  he  came  near  to  the 
trees,  they  separated  to  let  him  pass.  Onward  he  passed, 
the  trees  closing  after  him,  and  at  last  he  arrived  at  the 
palace  gates.  He  entered,  but  the  silence  which  reigned 
within,  quite  startled  him ;  however,  he  took  courage,  and 
passed  through  several  rooms,  in  which  every  person  he  saw 
was  fast  asleep.  At  length  the  prince  entered  a  splendid 
apartment,  where  lay,  on  an  elegant  couch,  the  most  beau- 
tiful lady  he  had  ever  beheld ;  with  intense  admiration  he 
gazed  upon  her  for  some  time,  and  falling  on  one  knee,  he 


ries  at  the  Baptism  of  the  Princess. 


gently  took  the  hand  of  the  princess,  and  pressed  it  to  his 
lips. 

The  enchantment  was  now  ended  ;  the  princess  opened 
her  eyes,  and  with  a  look  of  tenderness  said,  "Is  it  yon, 
prince  ?  how  long  I  have  waited  for  you  ! n  The  prince, 
delighted  at  these  words,  assured  her  that  he  loved  her  bet- 
ter than  he  did  himself.  A  long  time  was  sweetly  passed  in 
conversation,  and  the  prince  declared  how  happy  he  felt  in 
having  been  the  means  of  releasing  one  so  beautiful  from 
such  a  cruel  enchantment.  "  Ah  !  dear  prince,"  replied  she, 
"  It  was  you  who  were  my  companion  during  my  long  sleep. 
I  very  well  knew  that  he  who  should  end  my  enchantment 
would  be  the  handsomest  of  men,  and  that  he  would  love 


The  Prince  and  his  attendants  hunting  near  Sleeping  Beauty's  Palace. 

me  even  more  than  he  loved  himself ;  and  the  moment  I 
saw  you,  I  recollected  your  face." 

The  attendants  of  the  princess  awoke  at  the  same  time, 
and  commenced  their  several  duties  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened :  even  the  fire,  at  which  the  joints  and  game  had 
been  roasting,  suddenly  re-kindled ;  and  the  cook  bustled 
about  to  have  all  things  ready  at  what  he  supposed  to  be 
the  proper  time. 

The  prince  now  assisted  the  princess  to  rise.  She  was 
magnificently  dressed  ;  but  he  wisely  did  not  tell  her  that 
her  clothes  were  in  the  style  of  those  worn  by  his  great 
grandmother  ;  however,  they  became  the  princess  so  well, 
that  she  looked  exceedingly  beautiful. 


The  Princess  taking  refreshment  after  her  long  sleep. 

He  took  her  hand,  and  conducted  her  to  the  apartment 
in  which  the  refreshments  were  served,  and  as  soon  as  they 
were  seated  at  the  table,  the  musicians,  who  were  in  readi- 
ness with  their  instruments,  began  to  play  some  airs  ;  which, 
although  very  old,  were  nevertheless  extremely  agreeable. 
In  fact,  the  prince  felt  himself  so  happy,  with  the  old-fash- 
ioned appearance  of  every  thing  that  met  his  view,  which- 
ever way  he  looked,  and  which  seemed  to  borrow  a  charm 
from  the  beautiful  princess,  that  he  was  completely  filled 
with  pleasure. 

The  prince  and  princess  passed  the  evening,  greatly  de- 
lighted with  each  other's  company,  and  agreed  that  the 
chaplain  should  marry  them  that  night.  The  ceremony 


The  Prince  conducting  the  beautiful  Princess  to  his  father's  palace. 

accordingly  took  place ;  and  the  next  day,  the  prince  con« 
ducted  his  bride,  accompanied  by  her  attendants,  in  grand 
state,  to  his  father's  palace.  The  trees  which  surrounded 
the  palace  where  the  Sleeping  Beauty  had  reposed  for  one 
hundred  years,  were  mostly  gone,  just  a  few  remained  ;  and 
triumphal  arches  had  been  put  up,  for  the  procession  to 
pass  under,  but  who  placed  them  there  was  a  mystery. 

Some  supposed  it  to  have  been  the  work  of  the  good 
fairy  who  had  so  long  watched  over  and  taken  such  great 
care  of  the  Sleeping  Beauty  ;  but  no  one  knew  for  certain. 
Of  this  we  may  rest  assured,  that  the  prince  and  his  beau- 
tiful wife  passed  a  long  and  happy  life. 


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