"maybe in a hundred years` time. who knows?" said the fairy.

　　"oh! what would make her waken?" asked the queen weeplng.

　　"love," replied the fairy. "if a man of pure heart were to fall in love with her, that would bring her back to life!"

　　"how can a man fall in love with a sleeping girl?" sobbed the queen, and so heart-broken was she that, a few days later, she died. the sleeping princess was taken to her room and laid on the bed surrounded by garlands of flowers. she was so beautiful, with a sweet face, not like those of the dead, but pink like those who are sleeping peacefully. the good fairy said to herself,

　　"when she wakens, who is she going to see around her? strange faces and people she doesn`t know? i can never let that happen. it would be too painful for this unfortunate girl."

　　so the fairy cast a spell; and everyone that lived in the castle - soldiers, ministers, guards, servants, ladies, pages, cooks, maids and knights - all fell into a deep sleep, wherever they were at that very moment.

　　"now," thought the fairy, "when the princess wakes up, they too will awaken, and life will go on from there." and she left the castle, now wrapped in silence. not a sound was to be heard, nothing moved except for the clocks, but when they too ran down, they stopped, and time stopped with them. not even the faintest rustle was to be heard, only the wind whistling round the turrets, not a single voice, only the cry of birds.

　　the years sped past. in the castle grounds, the trees grew tall. the bushes became thick and straggling, the grass invaded the courtyards and the creepers spread up the walls. in a hundred years, a dense forest grew up. 上一页 第 1 2 3 4 页 下一页