Then the king and queen kissed their dear child, without waking her, and
left the castle. Proclamations were issued, forbidding any approach to
it, but these warnings were not needed, for within a quarter of an hour
there grew up all round the park so vast a quantity of trees big and
small, with interlacing brambles and thorns, that neither man nor beast
could penetrate them. The tops alone of the castle towers could be seen,
and these only from a distance. Thus did the fairy's magic contrive that
the princess, during all the time of her slumber, should have nought
whatever to fear from prying eyes. At the end of a hundred years the throne had passed to another family
from that of the sleeping princess. One day the king's son chanced to go
a-hunting that way, and seeing in the distance some towers in the midst
of a large and dense forest, he asked what they were. His attendants
told him in reply the various stories which they had heard. Some said
there was an old castle haunted by ghosts, others that all the witches
of the neighbourhood held their revels there. The favourite tale was
that in the castle lived an ogre, who carried thither all the children
whom he could catch. There he devoured them at his leisure, and since he
was the only person who could force a passage through the wood nobody
had been able to pursue him. [Illustration: '_The king's son chanced to go a-hunting_']

While the prince was wondering what to believe, an old peasant took up
the tale. 'Your Highness,' said he, 'more than fifty years ago I heard my father
say that in this castle lies a princess, the most beautiful that has
ever been seen. It is her doom to sleep there for a hundred years, and
then to be awakened by a king's son, for whose coming she waits.' This story fired the young prince. He jumped immediately to the
conclusion that it was for him to see so gay an adventure through, and
impelled alike by the wish for love and glory, he resolved to set about
it on the spot. Hardly had he taken a step towards the wood when the tall trees, the
brambles and the thorns, separated of themselves and made a path for
him. He turned in the direction of the castle, and espied it at the end
of a long avenue. This avenue he entered, and was surprised to notice
that the trees closed up again as soon as he had passed, so that none of
his retinue were able to follow him. A young and gallant prince is
always brave, however; so he continued on his way, and presently reached
a large fore-court. The sight that now met his gaze was enough to fill him with an icy fear. The silence of the place was dreadful, and death seemed all about him. The recumbent figures of men and animals had all the appearance of being
lifeless, until he perceived by the pimply noses and ruddy faces of the
porters that they merely slept. It was plain, too, from their glasses,
in which were still some dregs of wine, that they had fallen asleep
while drinking. The prince made his way into a great courtyard, paved with marble, and
mounting the staircase entered the guardroom. Here the guards were lined
up on either side in two ranks, their muskets on their shoulders,
snoring their hardest. Through several apartments crowded with ladies
and gentlemen in waiting, some seated, some standing, but all asleep, he
pushed on, and so came at last to a chamber which was decked all over
with gold. There he encountered the most beautiful sight he had ever
seen. Reclining upon a bed, the curtains of which on every side were
drawn back, was a princess of seemingly some fifteen or sixteen summers,
whose radiant beauty had an almost unearthly lustre. [Illustration: '_All asleep_']

Trembling in his admiration he drew near and went on his knees beside
her. At the same moment, the hour of disenchantment having come, the
princess awoke, and bestowed upon him a look more tender than a first
glance might seem to warrant. 'Is it you, dear prince?' she said; 'you have been long in coming!' Charmed by these words, and especially by the manner in which they were
said, the prince scarcely knew how to express his delight and
gratification. He declared that he loved her better than he loved
himself. His words were faltering, but they pleased the more for that. The less there is of eloquence, the more there is of love. Her embarrassment was less than his, and that is not to be wondered at,
since she had had time to think of what she would say to him. It seems
(although the story says nothing about it) that the good fairy had
beguiled her long slumber with pleasant dreams. To be brief, after four
hours of talking they had not succeeded in uttering one half of the
things they had to say to each other. [Illustration: '_They all fell asleep_']

Now the whole palace had awakened with the princess. Every one went
about his business, and since they were not all in love they presently
began to feel mortally hungry. The lady-in-waiting, who was suffering
like the rest, at length lost patience, and in a loud voice called out
to the princess that supper was served. The princess was already fully dressed, and in most magnificent style. As he helped her to rise, the prince refrained from telling her that her
clothes, with the straight collar which she wore, were like those to
which his grandmother had been accustomed. And in truth, they in no way
detracted from her beauty. They passed into an apartment hung with mirrors, and were there served
with supper by the stewards of the household, while the fiddles and
oboes played some old music--and played it remarkably well, considering
they had not played at all for just upon a hundred years. A little
later, when supper was over, the chaplain married them in the castle
chapel, and in due course, attended by the courtiers in waiting, they
retired to rest. They slept but little, however. The princess, indeed, had not much need
of sleep, and as soon as morning came the prince took his leave of her. He returned to the city, and told his father, who was awaiting him with
some anxiety, that he had lost himself while hunting in the forest, but
had obtained some black bread and cheese from a charcoal-burner, in
whose hovel he had passed the night. His royal father, being of an
easy-going nature, believed the tale, but his mother was not so easily
hoodwinked. She noticed that he now went hunting every day, and that he
always had an excuse handy when he had slept two or three nights from
home. She felt certain, therefore, that he had some love affair. Two whole years passed since the marriage of the prince and princess,
and during that time they had two children. The first, a daughter, was
called 'Dawn,' while the second, a boy, was named 'Day,' because he
seemed even more beautiful than his sister. Many a time the queen told her son that he ought to settle down in life. She tried in this way to make him confide in her, but he did not dare to
trust her with his secret.