Sleeping Beauty

(Sun, Moon and Talia)

The story

Sleeping Beauty is a classic fairytale in which a beautiful princess is forced into an enchanted sleep until wakened by the magic of a handsome prince.

In early versions of the story, a princess named Zellandine falls in love with a man named Troylus who her father sends off on various tasks to prove himself worthy of the king’s daughter. While he is gone, Zellandine falls into an enchanted sleep. Troylus returns, finds her sleeping, and proceeds to rape and impregnate her in her sleep. He then departs, leaving behind a ring. When their child is born, the child draws from her finger a sliver of flax that had caused her sleep. Zellandine finds the ring Troylus has left her and realizes that he was the father. Troylus later returns to marry her.

In other versions, the story begins with the christening of a long-wished-for child. Seven fairies are invited to be godmothers to the infant princess. All of them are presented with a golden plate and drinking cups adorned with jewels. Shortly afterwards, an old fairy arrives and is seated with a plate of fine china and a crystal drinking glass. This old fairy is overlooked because she has been living in a tower for many years and everyone had thought her to be dead.

Six of the other seven fairies then offer their gifts of beauty, wit, grace, dance, song, and goodness to the infant princess. Offended and angry about being forgotten, the old fairy curses the beautiful princess, announcing that their daughter will die when she pricks her finger on a sliver of flax (or, in other versions, a spindle). The seventh fairy endeavours to reverse the curse but can only partially do so. As a result, instead of dying, the Princess will fall into a deep sleep for 100 years and be awakened by a kiss from a king's son.

The king orders that every spindle and spinning wheel in the kingdom be destroyed in the hopes of protecting his daughter from this terrible curse. Years pass and one day, when the King and Queen are away, the Princess wanders through the palace rooms and comes upon an old woman, spinning with her spindle. The princess, who has never seen anyone spin before, asks the old woman if she can try the spinning wheel. The curse is fulfilled as the princess pricks her finger on the spindle and instantly falls into a deep sleep.

The King and Queen return and order the Princess carried to the finest room in the palace and placed upon a bed of gold and silver embroidered fabric. They kiss their daughter goodbye and depart, proclaiming the entrance to be forbidden. The good fairy who altered the evil prophecy is summoned. The fairy puts everyone in the castle to sleep and summons a forest of trees, brambles and thorns to spring up around the castle, shielding it from the outside world and preventing anyone from disturbing the Princess.

A hundred years pass and the Princess is discovered in her castle by a wandering King, who has heard the story and braves the thicket of brambles and thorns.

He "...gathers the first fruits of love." and leaves her there where she gives birth to a set of twins, awakening in childbirth.

The king returns sometime later, finds her awake and a mother of his twins. He informs her of his identity and promises to return.

Once back in his own kingdom, his wife hears him saying “Talia, Sun and Moon” in his sleep. The Queen bribes the king's secretary to tell her what is going on. After learning the truth, the Queen writes Talia, pretending to be the king, asking her to send the twins because he wants to see them. Once Talia sends her twins to the "king" the Queen orders the cook to kill the twins and make dishes out of them, intending to feed the king his children.

Instead, the cook takes the twins to his wife and hides them. He then cooks two lambs and serves them as if they were the twins. Every time the king mentions how good the food is, the queen replies, "Eat, eat, you are eating of your own." Later, the queen invites Talia to the kingdom and is going to burn her alive, but the king appears and finds out what’s going on with his children and Talia. He then orders that his wife be burned along with those who betrayed him. Since the cook actually did not obey the queen, the king thanks the cook for saving his children by giving him rewards. The story ends with the king marrying Talia and living happily ever after

In Film

• Hable con Ella (Talk to her) by Pedro Almodóvar