The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1878-12-12
sHisreAanv.
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.
Translation Of the Original Story From
the French.

AuL SLEEflNU BEAUTY.
4 Translation of the Original Story From
the French.
The charming spectacular drama which
Is to be given under the auspices of the
Mount Vernon Aid Society is to be merely
pantomime, and as the delighted audi
ence is expected to be all eyes and ears for
the music and players, and will not care
to be distracted in mind in trying to make
out what it is all about, we publish
translation Of the original story, which
Miss Ward, with some variations. has
wrought into medley of maidens fair and
fairies, and music and magic. and all
sorts of entertainments.
The author of this fairy tale was Charles
Perrault, French academician. This is
one among many others of his published
IN 1857, which, into English, became the
Mother Goose of our childhood. 1t is said
that the sleep Of Epimenides, one of the
seven wise men of Greece. suggested the
main incidents of the story of the Sleep
ing Beauty. Doubtless our own Irving
borrowed from the same source, or from
Perrault himself, the idea at the basis of
his legend OF Rip Van Wrinkle. At any
rate this Is our story:
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE FOREST.
There was once a king and queen, who
where so sorry that they had no children
70 sorry. do not know how to tell it.
At last daughter was born to them.
They made fine baptism; they gave for
godmother to the little princess all the
fairies that could be found in the country
There were seven of them so that each of
them giving her gift, as was the custom
of fairies at that time, the princess in this
way should have all the imaginable per-
fections. After the ceremony of baptism,
all the company returned to the king
palace, where there was great feast for
the fairies. There was put before each of
them a magnificent plate, with case of
massive gold, in which was aspoon, a fork
and knife of fine gold, ornamented with
diamonds and rubies. But, as each one
took her place at table, there was seen to
enter an old fairy that had not been invit-
ed, because that more than fifty years she
had been gone off on a journey, and they
all believed her dead or bewitched.
The King ordered plate to be given
her; but there was no way of giving her a
iuabsisC HOiu Cdshtt, W DE-
cause that there had been only seven made,
for the seven fairies.
The old woman thought that they de-
spised her, and muttered some threats be-
tween her teeth One of the young fairies.
who was near her, heard her, and, think
ing that she might give some nice gift to
The little Princess, went, when they were
leaving the table, and hid herself behind
tayaosfrv Sn that chn ,,torht svaaIy 1,c o.
and be able to repair, as much as possible,
the evil that the old woman would do.
Meantime the fairies began to make
their gifts to the Princess. The youngest
gave as gift that she should be the most
beautiful person in the world. The gift
of another was that she should have the
mind of an angel; the third, that there
should be an admirable grace in all that
she should do; the fourth, that she should
dance perfectly: the fifth, that she should
sing like nightingale. and the sixth, that
she should play upon all kinds of instru-
ments with perfect skill
The old falrys turn having come, she
said, her head shaking more in its humor
than with old age, that the Princess should
pierce her hand with spindle. and that
she should die of it. This terrible gift
made all the company tremble, and there
was no one who did not weep. At this
moment the young fairy came out from be-
hind the curtain, and in loud voice spoke
these words:
BE comforted, King and Queen, your
daughter shall not die; it is true | have
not the power to undo entirely what this
old bag has done; the princess will prick
her hand with spindle. but instead of
dying she will only fall into a profound
sleep, which will last a hundred years, at
the end of which time the son of prince
will come and awaken her
The king, seeking to avoid the misfor-
tune announced by the old woman, i'm
mediately published decree, by which
he forbade every one to spin with spin
die or to have spindles IN their houses.
under pain of death. At the end of fifteen
or sixteen years, the king and queen hay
ing gone to one of their pleasure houses,
it happened that the Young princess. run
ming about in the castle. and going up
from chamber to chamber. came at last to
: the top Of a tower. into little garnet
where an old nurse was alone spinning
her distaff This good woman had heard
no one speak of the prohibition that the
King had made about the spinning with a
spindle.
"What arc you doing, my good wo-
man, said the Princess. Il am spin
ming, my dear child, replied the old wo-
man, who did not recognize her. "Ha!
how pretty it isl" replied the Princess.
How do you do it? Give If to me and
let me see if can do it as we'll" She
had no sooner taken the spindle than, as
she was very quick, little giddy. and
that besides the sentence of the fairy or