ry came out from behind the hangings,
and spake these words aloud:

"Assure yourselves, O King and Queen, that your daughter shall not die
of this disaster. It is true, I have no power to undo entirely what
my elder has done. The Princess shall indeed pierce her hand with a
spindle; but, instead of dying, she shall only fall into a profound
sleep, which shall last a hundred years, at the expiration of which a
king's son shall come and awake her."

The King, to avoid the misfortune foretold by the old Fairy, caused
immediately proclamation to be made, whereby everybody was forbidden, on
pain of death, to spin with a distaff and spindle, or to have so much as
any spindle in their houses. About fifteen or sixteen years after, the
King and Queen being gone to one of their houses of pleasure, the young
Princess happened one day to divert herself in running up and down the
palace; when going up from one apartment to another, she came into a
little room on the top of the tower, where a good old woman, alone, was
spinning with her spindle. This good woman had never heard of the King's
proclamation against spindles.

"What are you doing there, goody?" said the Princess.

"I am spinning, my pretty child," said the old woman, who did not know
who she was.

"Ha!" said the Princess, "this is very pretty; how do you do it? Give it
to me, that I may see if I can do so."

She had no sooner taken it into her hand than, whether being very hasty
at it, somewhat unhandy, or that the decree of the Fairy had so ordained
it, it ran into her hand, and she fell down in a swoon.

The good old woman, not knowing very well what to do in this affair,
cried out for help. People came in from every quarter in great numbers;
they threw water upon the Princess's face, unlaced her, struck her on
the palms of her hands, and rubbed her temples with Hungary-water; but
nothing would bring her to herself.

And now the King, who came up at the noise, bethought himself of
the prediction of the fairies, and, judging very well that this must
necessarily come to pass, since the fairies had said it, caused the
Princess to be carried into the finest apartment in his palace, and to
be laid upon a bed all embroidered with gold and silver.

One would have taken her for a little angel, she was so very beautiful;
for her swooning away had not diminished one bit of her complexion; her
cheeks were carnation, and her lips were coral; indeed, her eyes were
shut, b