When this misfortune happened， the kindly young fairy whohad saved the Princess by changing her sleep of death into thissleep of a hundred years， was twelve thousand leagues away， inthe kingdom of Mataquin. But， being informed of everythingby a little dwarf who wore seven- league boots， she arrivedspeedily in a chariot of fire drawn by dragons. The Kinghanded her out of the chariot， and she approved of all he haddone. Then， being a fairy of great common sense and foresight，she thought that the Princess， awakening after a hundred yearsin this old castle， might not know what to do with herself ifshe found herself alone. Accordingly， she touched with hermagic wand everybody and everything in the palace exceptthe King and Queen： governesses， ladies of honor， waitingmaids， gentlemen ushers， cooks， kitchen girls， pages， footmen；even the horses that were in the stables， and the grooms thatattended them， she touched each and all. Nay， the dogs， too，in the outer court， and the little fat lapdog， Mopsey， who hadlaid himself down beside his mistress on her splendid bed，were also touched， and they， like all the rest， fell fast asleep ina moment. The very spits that were before the kitchen fire fellasleep， and the fire itself， and everything became as still as if itwere the middle of the night， or as if the palace were a palaceof the dead.
The King and Queen， having kissed their daughter， wentout of the castle， giving orders that it was to be approached nomore. The command was unnecessary， for in one quarter of anhour there sprang up around it a wood so thick and thorny thatneither beasts nor men could attempt to penetrate there. Abovethis dense mass of forest could only be seen the top of the hightower where the lovely Princess slept.
When a hundred years were gone the King had died， andhis throne had passed to another royal family. The reigningKing’s son， being one day out hunting， was stopped in thechase by this great wood， inquired what wood it was and whatwere those towers which he saw appearing out of the midstof it. Every one answered as he had heard. Some said it wasan old castle haunted by spirits. Others said it was the abodeof witches and enchanters. The most common story was thatan Ogre lived there， a giant with long teeth and claws， whocarried away naughty little boys and girls and ate them up. ThePrince did not know what to think. At length an old peasantwas found who remembered having heard his grandfather sayto his father that in this tower was a Princess， beautiful as theday， who was doomed to sleep there for one hundred years，until awakened by a king’s son， who was to marry her.
At this the young Prince， who had the spirit of a hero，determined to find out the truth for himself.
Spurred on by love and honor， he leaped from his horseand began to force his way through the thick wood. To hisamazement the stiff branches all gave way， and the uglythorns drew back of their own accord， and the brambles buriedthemselves in the earth to let him pass. This done， they closedbehind him， allowing none to follow. Nevertheless， he pushedboldly on alone.
The first thing he saw was enough to freeze him with fear.
Bodies of men and horses lay extended on the ground； but themen had faces， not death white， but red as roses， and besidethem were glasses half filled with wine， showing that they hadgone to sleep drinking. Next he entered a large court pavedwith marble， where stood rows of guards presenting arms，but as still as if cut out of stone； then he passed through manychambers where gentlemen and ladies， all in the dress of thepast century， slept at their ease， some standing， some sitting.
The pages were lurking in corners， the ladies of honor werestooping over their embroidery frames or listening to thegentlemen of the court； but all were as silent and as quiet asstatues. Their clothes， strange to say， were fresh and new asever； and not a particle of dust or spider web had gathered overthe furniture， though it had not known a broom for a hundredyears. Finally， the astonished Prince came to an inner chamber，where was the fairest sight his eyes ever beheld.
A young girl of wonderful beauty lay asleep on anembroidered bed， and she looked as if she had only just closedher eyes. Trembling， the Prince approached and knelt besideher. Some say he kissed her； but as nobody saw it， and shenever told， we cannot be quite sure of the fact. However， as theend of the enchantment had come， the Princess waked at once，and， looking at him with eyes of the tenderest regard， said，sleepily： “Is it you， my Prince？ I have waited for you verylong.”
Charmed with these words， and still more by the tone inwhich they were uttered， the Prince assured her that he lovedher more than his life. For a long time did they sit talking， andyet had not said half enough. Their only interruption was thelittle dog Mopsey， who had awakened with his mistress， andnow began to be jealous that the Princess did not notice him asmuch as she was wont to do.
Meanwhile all the attendants， whose enchantment was alsobroken， not being in love， were ready to die of hunger aftertheir fast of a hundred years. A lady of honor ventured to saythat dinner was served， whereupon the Prince handed hisbeloved Princess at once to the great hall. She did not wait todress for dinner， being already perfectly and magnificentlyattired， though in a fashion somewhat out of date. However，her lover had the politeness not to notice this， nor to remindher that she was dressed exactly like his grandmother whoseportrait still hung on the palace walls.
During dinner a concert by the attendant musicians tookplace， and， considering they had not touched their instrumentsfor a century， they played the old tunes extremely well. Theyended with a wedding march， for that very evening the Princeand Princess were married.
After a few days they went together out of the castle andenchanted wood， both of which immediately vanished， andwere nevermore beheld by mortal eyes. The Princess wasrestored to her ancestral kingdom， and after a few years thePrince and she became King and Queen， and ruled long andhappily.
