Disney Series: Sleeping Beauty
There once was a castle nestled deep in the hills of a faraway foreign land, and the king and queen of that castle happily ruled over their people. They had not thought that they would ever want a child when they first got married, because it was an arranged marriage. But as time passed, and their people showed their loyalty, affection grew between the king and queen. One day they realized that they wanted a child. After a long time of waiting, they finally were rewarded with a beautiful baby girl. They were very happy, and they named her Isabella, because she brought such beauty to their lives.
The entire kingdom rejoiced, knowing that this was a wonderful day for not only their leaders but them as well; a holiday was proclaimed on that day. King Carlisle of the kingdom neighboring King Charles' own kingdom came to celebrate with his young son, Prince Edward who was at the age of five. Over the dinner that was held that night, the two kings were seated next to each other so that they could chat. But what turned into a chat was the agreement to unite their two kingdoms. It was on the night of Isabella's birthday that the two kings declared that the prince and princess would one day marry.
The night carried on and as Princess Isabella slept nearby, Prince Edward could not stop thinking of her. He didn't want to seem improper- after all, these would be his future people if he were to be married to princess Isabella, but all he wanted to do was stare at the beautiful baby. As Edward was fighting with himself about whether or not he should go and stare at Isabella, a bright shaft of light shone done on the ballroom floor in front of the massive dining tables. All attending the dinner were silenced when they noticed the light.
Three good fairies glided down onto the granite and they were none other than Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. These were the three fairies who had agreed to help the kings and queens of this magical and enchanted land. They had taken a liking to King Charles' and Queen Renee, and wanted to give their blessings to the new baby.
First to give her blessing was Flora, the wisest of the three fairies. "Little princess," she said softly as she came up to the cradle set near the queen and king. "My gift shall be the gift of beauty." She waved her wand above Isabella and a wondrous golden light bathed the infant, and if possible, she grew even lovelier.
Next was Fauna. She walked silently up to the princess and gazed at her for a moment, deciding. When she had come to a decision she said, "My gift shall be the gift of song." And as Fauna waved her dainty wand above Isabella's small head, a flock of colorful birds magically appeared and sang their delightful song.
Merryweather took a step toward the cradle, but before she could give the final blessing, a gust of wind blew open the doors. There was a flash of lightning, a crack of thunder, and then darkness. All of the candles were blown out, and everyone was left in a luminous green glowing light as it took the shape of a woman. It was the fairy Maleficent, and she had arrived because she was angry that she wasn't invited to the party. King Charles had offered her a fourth place among the allegiance of fairies, but she refused, claiming that she was much better than that.
"Since the previous rulers of this land have decided not to invite me to anything around here, I thought that I would come to this party and give my own blessing." The wicked fairy said in her scratchy voice that was dripping with disdain. "And since you thought that I shouldn't be allowed to give your precious daughter my 'blessing' I am anyways!" She smiled her sinister smile and walked up to baby Isabella's cradle. She was still sleeping, and didn't stir when Maleficent spoke to all of the peasants and the two royal families in the room. "Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday," she promised looking everyone in the eye, "She shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel... and die."
The queen cried out in despair and ran to hold her baby tightly to her chest, but the wicked fairy paid her no attention. She laughed as if she were a child winning a game, and to her, she was winning this game. King Charles could not let this go on any longer. "Seize that... Creature!" He commanded the soldiers standing nearby. They ran toward her, weapons ready, but they couldn't reach her before she disappeared in a burst of green fire and smoke.
Merryweather felt horrible, for she knew that she could not do anything to break the curse, but she could change it some. She approached Queen Renee and smiled a little to show that she wanted to help. "Not in death, but just in sleep, the fateful prophecy you'll keep and from this slumber you shall wake, when true love's kiss the spell shall break." Edward's sharp intake of breath was not heard among the people standing near him but he was watching everything the whole time. I hope that kiss will be mine... I feel that she is my one true love. A vision of the sleeping princess appeared before the crowd, and as it soon disappeared, King Charles ordered everyone to burn every spinning wheel in the kingdom at once.
Flora came up with a brilliant plan as King Carlisle and Price Edward left to their own kingdom to burn all of the spinning wheels there. "We will dress as peasants and take the princess to our secluded cottage in the forest." Her eyes were lit up with the idea that they could finally be of service to the royal family after all of the time that they kept watch over them. "Yes! That is a brilliant idea! And once young Isabella has passed her first day of her sixteenth year, we can bring her back to marry Prince Edward!" Merryweather said clapping her hands. All three fairies jumped up and down and immediately used their magical wands to change their appearance to that of a peasant.
The king and queen agreed- reluctantly- to give their beloved baby to the trusted fairies. "It's the only way," said King Charles as he held his crying wife and watched the disguised fairies hurry towards their cottage.