Briar Rose

Once there were a king and queen who said to each other every day, "Wouldn't it be good to have a child?" But for all their wishes, their praying, their expensive medicines and special diets, no child came.

The one day, when the queen Elizabeta was bathing, a frog crept out of the water and sat on the bank. It croaked a lone note and said to her, "Your wish will be granted. Before a year has passed, you shall bring a daughter into the world."

The frog's words came true. After a year, Elizabeta gave birth to a baby girl who was so adorable that the king couldn't contain his joy. He ordered a a great celebration to which he invited not only his royal relatives from every nearby country, but also friends and distinguished people of every kind. Among those present were the thirteen Wise Women. The king wanted them there so they would be well disposed towards his daughter, but the trouble was that he had only twelve gold plates for them to eat off. One of the Wise Women would have to stay at home.

The feasting and celebrating went on for some time, and it ended with the Wise Women presenting the princess with special gifts such as wealth, beauty, virtue and so on; everything anyone could wish for was hers.

The eleventh one had just given the gift of patience when there was a disturbance at the door. The guards were trying to keep someone out, but she swept in anyway. It was the thirteenth Wise Woman.

"So you didn't think me worth inviting?" she shrilled to the king. "What a mistake that was! Here's my answer to that insult: in her fifteenth year the princess will prick her finger on a spindle and fall down dead." With a whoosh, she turned on her heel and disappeared.

Everyone was utterly shocked. But the twelfth Wise Woman, who had yet to present her gift, stepped forward and spoke, "I cannot completely undo the evil wish, but I can try to soften it. For one, the princess will not die but sleep for a hundred years. The next," at this she lowered her voice to a whisper so that the royals were the only ones who heard. "I have to turn your beloved daughter into a boy as a precaution." The king and queen, finding no better ideas to safeguard their child, reluctantly agreed.

So Feliciano was raised with the mannerisms and delicacy of a female, and was educated about the curse and why he was a male dressing up in female garments. Feli took the news surprisingly well and hardly complained albeit the stifling heat dresses and wigs cause. So all of the kingdom and beyond knew Feli as only another cute princess.

To protect his daughter-turned-son, the king issued a command that every spindle in the land should be burned. As the 'princess' grew up, it was clear that all the Wise Women's gifts were in full abundance. Never had anyone known a girl kinder, more beautiful, more clever or more sweet-tempered. No one knew that said princess was actually a prince either, but it doesn't really matter. Feli was loved be everyone he knew.

Now on the day when he turned fifteen, it happened that the king and queen were away, and the boy was alone in the castle. He wandered about from one place to the next, looking into this room or that, into the cellar, up onto the rooftop, going wherever he wanted; and at last he came to an old tower where he'd never been before. He climbed up the dusty spiral staircase and found a small door at the top with a rusty key in the lock.

Curious, he turned the key and at once the door sprang open. In the little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning flax.

"Good morning old lady" greeted Feli. "What're you doing?"

"I'm spinning." said the old woman.

Of course, he had never seen anyone spinning before. "What's that little bouncing thing at the ned of the thread?"

The old woman offered to show him how to do it. Poor Feliciano took hold of the spindle and felt it prick him. Down he fell on the bed that lay ready, fast asleep in his pink dress and auburn wig.

The sleep was so deep that it fell through the whole castle. The king and queen had just returned, and as soon as they walked into the hall they fell down where they stood. Their servants fell down too, like dominoes in a line, and so did the horses in the stables with the grooms who looked after them, the pigeons on the roof and the dogs in the courtyard. One dog was scratching himself, but he fell asleep just like that. Down in the kitchen the flames fell asleep, a drop of fat was stopped midway from falling from a sizzling piece of steak, the cook had been about to clout the kitchen boy; her hand fell still six inches from his ear, his face remained screwed up waiting for the blow.

In all the castle and its grounds the only thing that moved was a thorny hedge. Every year it grew a little more , and it slowly grew till it reached the castle walls and climbed it until it covered the entire stone structure.

Of course people wondered why this was happening, what happened to the king, his queen and their beautiful daughter? Fortunately, there were a small number of guests at the celebration if the princess's birth and remembered the curse.

News spread like wildfire, the gossip mill tread ever the quicker. " It's all because the beautiful princess is asleep. She must be in there still. Anyone who makes his way in and kisses her shall rescue her you see." said one of the guests.

As time passed, various young men came forward – princes, soldiers, farmer's sons, beggars – all kinds of them, trying to cut the brambles and march their way in. But none of them made it. The hedge was immensely thick and the thorns were so long and sharp that they dug into the clothes and flesh of anyone who dared to go near them.

Many, many years later, when the story of the sleeping beauty was almost forgotten, a young prince with ice blue eyes came into the country. He was travelling incognito and wanted to try a hand at rescuing the rumoured beautiful princess, for he was not one to gossip and twiddle his thumbs.

As luck would have it, the German prince arrived when the hundred years were up. He did not know about that, but he set off with a heart full of courage. He came to a great thorn hedge and found it not at all as the rumours had said, because as well as thorns the hedge was bearing pretty pink flowers, thousands upon thousands of them. For all that though, he could see the skeletons of many other young men tangled deep in the briars. A sweet fragrance like apples filled the air, and as the prince came close to the hedge, the branches pulled apart by themselves to let him through, closing up afterwards.

He came to the courtyard to find everyone and everything sound asleep. Without hesitation, he marched through it all. Then he came to the tower. He climbed the dusty staircase and found, on the bed after he opened the wooden door, the most beautiful person he had ever seen, or could imagine.

He bent over and kissed her soft lips, and Feliciano opened his eyes with a sigh and mild surprise etched on his face. Almost by reflex, the now awoken sleeping beauty pushed the prince away. The young German prince inquired at her strange actions, determined not to let this beauty slip from his grasp.

After several prods and continuous sobbing on Feli's part, the 'princess' told him everything. About the curse, the gifts, the precautions and his miserable sleep. Feliciano was almost sure this prince would sneer at him in disgust and possibly give him a tight slap too, but was surprised when neither of them happened. Instead, the prince got down on one knee and immediately proposed, stating that he did not care much for gender and he had fallen in love with Feliciano.

A weird feeling bubbled up in their chests as Feli agreed. It would seem that his prince's name was Ludwig. They went downstairs together, hand in hand, watching everyone wake up around them. The king and queen woke up, stared all round wide-eyed. The horses neighed; the pigeons flew away; the dog in the courtyard carried on scratching; the cook boxed the kitchen boy's ears and the drop of fat finally fell.

In due course, after many complications and disapproving stares from the king and giggly squeals from the queen, Ludwig and Feliciano were united in holy matrimony, and they lived happily together to the end of their lives.

Note: This is a variation to the story [Sleeping Beauty] in which all readers have most likely heard of. The more recent disney variation would be Maleficient (a dreadfully touching story). In this version, the story is more similar to those told be the Brother's Grimm than Mother Goose. I've added the gender change and hope that the dear audience would not have minded it's joke, if not I am sorry for.

Thank you for reading and I hope you have enjoyed it! Favourites, follows and reviews are most welcome and appreciated.