nce upon a time in a far away land, there was a King and Queen who ruled their kingdom with a hand of justice and peace. The people lived each day in contentment. The royal rulers were very happy with every aspect of their lives-- except that they were childless. After years of waiting, they were finally blessed with a beautiful baby girl who they named . The proud parents were so excited that they held a huge christening party at their palace and invited nearly everyone in the land who could attend. They chose the three favorite Good Faerie friends, thoughtful , optimistic , and little Ginger, to be baby 's godparents.
Everyone attending the celebration presented a gift for the princess. After a frolicking evening of feasting and dancing, the three faeries presented their magical gifts to their godchild. With a touch of her glowing wand to the baby's forehead, blessed her with extraordinary beauty and grace. After a rippling of "oohs," "ahhs," and applause, curtsied to the pleased royal parents and flew away to an inconspicious corner of the hall. softly approached the cradle and likewise gave an intelligent and angelic mind. Just as little Ginger was about to present the final gift to the princess, all the torches lighting the palace dimmed and hazy a cloud of smoke appeared on the steps leading up to the thrones of the King and Queen. With a clap of thunder, the wicked witch materialized from the haze, sending all the guests into a frenzy to hide. The King, furious, rose; the Queen rushed to the cradle, and Ginger flew behind the curtains.
"How dare you leave me uninvited," cackled. "I thought the royal line would have learned never to provoke me. I have a gift for the child, too." Before anyone could do anything, the witch flooded the hall with eerie yellow, hazy light, and left a curse on little , that by her sixteenth birthday she would prick her finger on a spindle and die. With that, disappeared, laughing shrilly, into the smoke.
When the evil presence dissapeared, the torches relit the castle and all the guests crept out of hiding, the bewildered king assuring them that everyone was safe and the danger was past. The evening spoiled, the party began to break up. "Wait!" faerie Ginger called, as she, , and reappeared. "I still hadn't given Princess a gift." Ginger tried to comfort the parents by alleviating the curse as best as she could: the princess would not die, only sleep for 100 years or until a prince's kiss awoke her. As an extra precaution, the king promptly outlawed all spinning wheels.
grew up to be beautiful and graceful just as faerie and faerie had promised. Because the citizens of the kingdom had burned all spinning wheels, the King and Queen considered her safe and never bothered her with the burdensome knowledge of the curse. A couple weeks before her fated sixteenth birthday, Princess was picking flowers in the calm woods when she heard , a handsome prince from a neighboring kingdom, ride by on his white horse. Startled, she called out, asking who was there. Curious, Prince rode back into the small clearing. They fell deeply in love at the first glimpse of each other. They talked and flirted for nearly three hours, and then parted reluctantly with promises to meet again.
On the princess's birthday, the King and Queen threw a huge banquet. had never seen such a party and was delighted, but slightly worried because she was supposed to meet that evening. Midway through the celebration, she went to search for a servant who could secretly deliver a message to him, but was distracted by a soft yellow light that glided up the steps. She followed it to a tiny, silent nook in the castle where a glowing yellow spinning wheel stood. Curious, having never seen such a contraption before, Princess pricked her finger on the spindle and fainted.
The King and Queen mourned greatly for their only child, and they placed her sleeping body on a golden bed in a beautiful room in the castle tower. The three faerie godparents, who were at the party, placed a spell on everyone in the castle so they would sleep as long as the princess did.
Prince was waiting by a stream in the forest, wondering why had not arrived, when , flying through the forest in haste, collided with him.
"Are you sent from ?" asked anxiously. Upon learning that he was a prince, hurriedly told him what had occurred and pleaded for his aid. He mounted his horse and rushed to the palace with the good faerie close behind. The wicked witch , however, did not want the curse foiled again; and so had transformed into a huge fire-breathing beast in front of the castle. Prince arrived, and after a long struggle, killed the witch by thrusting his sword into the beast's heart. growled in agony, then faded into a puff of smoke which was soon blown away by the becalmed breeze.
He hurried up to the castle tower and found in deep sleep. She was even more beautiful than he had remembered. He brushed away a tendril of hair from her face, bent over, and kissed her. This, of course, broke the spell and awoke-- but heck, this was their first kiss and they wanted it to last, so they french-kissed for a long time until they heard the footsteps of the Queen coming up the tower steps. Prince and Princess married the following day...
AND OF COURSE THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER!!! THIS IS A FAIRY TALE!!! But...whatever is "happily ever after" to you...any of your wildest fantasies...you decide, it's your story.
all fairy tales by me, Ginger
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