For sixteen long years, the whereabouts of the princess remained a mystery, while deep in the forest, in a woodcutter's cottage, the good fairies carried out their well-laid plan. Living like mortals, they had reared the child as their own and called her Briar Rose...

A window of the cottage opened, and Briar Rose appeared, humming some tune in a lovely clear voice. She was an extraordinarily beautiful young woman, magically blessed with curly and wavy waist-length golden hair like sunshine, violet eyes, a tall and slender figure, and lips that did indeed shame the red rose. Her complexion was fair and flawless and her face was less rounded and more refined, giving her an appearance of maturity rather than youth despite being only 16. She wore a gray skirt with a white petticoat, a black bodice over a light gray blouse with long sleeves and usually she prefered to walk around barefoot.

On this day, her sixteenth birthday, the good fairies had planned a party and something extra special for her surprise.

Deeper inside the cottage, the fairies sat over a book of dresses.

Merryweather pointed. "How about this one?"

Flora nodded. "This is the one I picked."

Fauna gushed. "Oh she'll look beautiful in it."

"Now I thought a few changes here …"

"Aha."

"Don't forget a pretty bow …"

Flora smiled, her finger tracing the patterns. "And there's the shoulder line."

"We'll make it blue."

Flora snorted. "Oh no, dear, pink."

Merryweather frowned. "But …"

Flora ignored her. "Of course, we'll need a few pleats."

"Yes, but how are we going to get her out of the house?" Fauna whispered.

"Oh, I'll think of something."

Briar Rose came down the stairs and found the fairies. "Well, and what are you three dears up to?"

They all spun around in surprise.

"Up to?"

"Up to?"

"Up to?"

Flora was fast. "Eh, eh, eh, we, we, well, we, we …"

Merryweather grabbed a basket and gave it to her. "Want you to pick some berries."

Flora smiled. "That's it, berries!"

Briar Rose was confused. "Berries?"

"Lots of berries."

"But I picked berries yesterday," Rose protested.

"Oh, we need more, dear."

Fauna nodded. "Lots, lots more."

"Yes!"

The fairies pushed Briar Rose out of the house.

"Now don't hurry back, dear," Flora said with a smile.

Merryweather waved. "And don't go to far."

"And don't speak to strangers."

Fauna smiled. "Goodbye, dear!"

"Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

Briar Rose turned back, amused. "Goodbye!"

The fairies closed the door and got back inside.

Merryweather glanced behind her. "I wonder if she suspects."

Flora shook her head. "Of course not, come on. Will she be surprised!"

"A real birthday party."

Fauna bustled past. "With a real birthday cake."

"Yes, and a dress a princess can be proud of."

Merryweather ran upstairs. "I'll get the wands."

Flora nodded. "Yes, you ... the wands?"

Fauna gasped. "Oh no."

Flora dashed after her sister. "No magic!"

Merryweather pouted. "But the sixteen years are almost over."

"We're taking no chances."

"But, I never baked a fancy cake."

"Oh, you won't have to, dear."

Fauna smiled. "I'm going to bake the cake."

Merryweather gaped. "You?"

Flora laughed. "She's always wanted to, dear, and this is her last chance."

"Well, …"

Fauna was rambling to herself about her creation. "I'm going to make it fifteen layers with pink and blue, forgive-me-nots …"

Flora brought Merry back to her attention. "And i'm making the dress."

Merryweather was appaled. "But you can't sow, and she's never cooked!"

"Oh, it's simple."

"All you do is follow the book," Fauna agreed.

Flora directed Merryweather to stand on a chair. "Up here dear, you can be the dummy."

"Well, I still say we ought to use magic."

Flora threw a sheet of pink cloth above Merryweather and began cutting with a pair of scissors. Fauna had laid all the ingredients for the cake before her.

Fauna read from the book aloud as she searched for items. "Flour, three cups. Cups, cups, cups, cups, cups …"

She found three cups of different sizes and used them to pour flour into the bowl, counting each one as she poured it. "One, two, three."

Flora had cut a circular hole into the sheet she was working on.

Merryweather watched her, confused. "What's that for?"

"Well, it's got to have a hole in the bottom."

Fauna nodded. "That's for the feet to go through."

Merryweather looked at it in disgust. "It's pink!"

Flora nodded, her eyes bright and happy. "Oh, lovely shade, isn't it."

"But I wanted it blue."

Flora sighed. "Now, dear, we decided pink was her color."

She scoffed. "You decided!"

Fauna was still reading from the book as her sisters bickered. "Two eggs, fold in gently Fold? Oh well."

Fauna put two eggs into the bowl and started to fold them in, their shells cracking loudly. Merryweather was completely rolled into the pink cloth by this point.

"I can't breathe!" she gasped, her voice muffled.

Flora cut the cloth open at the top and Merryweather took a look at the dress from the inside.

"It looks awful!"

"That's because it's on you, dear."

"Now yeast, one tsp. tsp?" Fauna muttered.

"One teaspoon!"

Fauna laughed. "One teaspoon, of course."

Flora measured some size of the dress. "Oh gracious how the child has grown."

Merryweather nodded sadly. "Oh, it seems only yesterday we brought her here."

Fauna stared off into space as she worked on her cake. "Just a tiny baby..."

Merryweather lost a tear.

"Why Merryweather!"

"Whatever's the matter, dear?" Fauna asked, concerened.

"After the day she'll be a princess, and we won't have any Briar Rose."

Tears sprang to Fauna's eyes as well. "Oh Flora!"

Flora held back her own emotions. "We all knew this day had to come."

Fauna sniffled. "But why did it have to come so soon?"

"After all, we've had her for sixteen years."

"Sixteen wonderful years," Merry agreed lovingly.

"Good gracious, We're acting like a lot of ninnies! Come on, she'll be back before we get started," Flora snapped and they all got back to it.