Sleeping Beauty

Story retold by Bev Evans

Once upon a time there was a king who lived in a far

away castle

The King had invited many

people to join the celebration.

The King’s wife had just had a new baby and everyone in the

castle was celebrating.

Among the people celebrating were a

group of fairies.

The King had invited them so they could bless the new Princess

with gifts.

They gave the Princess the gifts of grace, beauty and

friendliness.

The King had

forgotten to invite one of the older

fairies and she burst into the castle in

great anger.

She was so angry that she put a curse on the

Princess.

Unfortunately, the celebrations were

about to come to an end.

“On her sixteenth birthday she will

prick her finger and die!”

The King and Queen were very upset.

The King immediately

banned the use of sharp objects from

the castle and offered a reward for the capture of the

old evil fairy.

Then the old evil fairy disappeared.

But he didn’t know what else to do.

At that moment, one of the kind fairies stepped

forward.

Although she could not break the curse

she was able to change it.

The Princess would not die. If anything

happened the Princess, and

everyone in the castle, would fall

into a deep sleep.

A kiss would later wake up the

Princess and all in the castle.

Although they were not sure, the King and Queen agreed with this idea and

the fairy made cast her spell.

And, all the while, the Princess carried on sleeping in her

wooden crib.

..

Many years went by and nothing happened.

The Princess was taking a walk

inside the castle when she came

across…

Then, on the day of her sixteenth

birthday, a strange thing happened.

The Princess was nearly sixteen and

loved to walk around the castle

grounds.

The old woman was the evil fairy in

disguise! She had magically entered the castle and was

ready for her revenge!

…an old woman with a spinning

wheel.

She handed the Princess something

sharp. She knew what was going to

happen.

The Princess pricked her finger.

Soon, she was in a deep sleep on the

floor.

The evil fairy thought the

Princess was dead and disappeared.

The kind fairy knew something had happened and

rushed to the castle.

She carefully lifted the Princess onto a

beautiful bed as everyone else in the

castle drifted off into a deep sleep.

No one came to castle for many

years.The castle became

covered in brambles and weeds.

Then, one day, a handsome prince

was riding near the castle.

He asked a nearby farmer what had happened there.

The farmer told him the whole story.

When the handsome prince heard about

how a kiss could wake the Princess he decided to try

and break the spell.

He chopped through

the weeds and

brambles…

…and entered

the castle

grounds.

The Prince started searching for the

Princess.

Eventually, he went to the tallest tower. The Prince climbed the stone steps to the top,

opened the door… …and found the Princess

The Prince started searching for the

Princess.

Eventually, he went to the tallest tower. The Prince climbed the stone steps to the top,

opened the door… …and found the Princess

The Prince approached the bed, leaned over, and…

…kissed the Princess.

The Princess, and everyone in the

castle, woke up.

The King thanked the Prince, and

there was another large celebration in

the castle.

After a short while the Prince and the

Princess got married and left the castle

for a new life.

Everyone lived happily ever after.

And the evil fairy was never heard of

again.

The EndThe EndThe EndThe EndStory retold by Bev Evans

www.communication4all.co.uk

Images by Gavin Rowe ©Ladybird Books