At this very instant the young fairy came from behind the curtains and said these words in a loud voice:—­

“Assure yourselves, O King and Queen, that your daughter shall not die of this disaster.  It is true, I have no power to undo entirely what my elder has done.  The Princess shall indeed pierce her hand with a spindle; but, instead of dying, she shall only fall into a deep sleep, which shall last a hundred years, at the end of which a king’s son shall come and awake her.”

The King, to avoid the misfortune foretold by the old fairy, issued orders forbidding any one, on pain of death, to spin with a distaff and spindle, or to have a spindle in his house.  About fifteen or sixteen years after, the King and Queen being absent at one of their country villas, the young Princess was one day running up and down the palace; she went from room to room, and at last she came into a little garret on the top of the tower, where a good old woman, alone, was spinning with her spindle.  This good woman had never heard of the King’s orders against spindles.

“What are you doing there, my good woman?” said the Princess.

“I am spinning, my pretty child,” said the old woman, who did not know who the Princess was.

“Ha!” said the Princess, “this is very pretty; how do you do it?  Give it to me.  Let me see if I can do it.”

She had no sooner taken it into her hand than, either because she was too quick and heedless, or because the decree of the fairy had so ordained, it ran into her hand, and she fell down in a swoon.

The good old woman, not knowing what to do, cried out for help.  People came in from every quarter; they threw water upon the face of the Princess, unlaced her, struck her on the palms of her hands, and rubbed her temples with cologne water; but nothing would bring her to herself.

Then the King, who came up at hearing the noise, remembered what the fairies had foretold.  He knew very well that this must come to pass, since the fairies had foretold it, and he caused the Princess to be carried into the finest room in his palace, and to be laid upon a bed all embroidered with gold and silver.  One would have taken her for a little angel, she was so beautiful; for her swooning had not dimmed the brightness of her complexion:  her cheeks were carnation, and her lips coral.  It is true her eyes were shut, but she was heard to breathe softly, which satisfied those about her that she was not dead.

[Illustration:  “Let me see if I can do it.” p. 15.]

The King gave orders that they should let her sleep quietly till the time came for her to awake.  The good fairy who had saved her life by condemning her to sleep a hundred years was in the kingdom of Matakin, twelve thousand leagues off, when this accident befell the Princess; but she was instantly informed of it by a little dwarf, who had seven-leagued boots, that is, boots with which he could stride over seven leagues of ground at once.  The fairy started off at once, and arrived, about an hour later, in a fiery chariot drawn by dragons.