At that moment every one in the great palace fell fast asleep also.
The king slept upon his golden throne; the queen slept in her royal
parlor; the judges slept on the council benches. Fast asleep fell
lords and ladies of the court. Even the flies slept on the walls, and
the fires died down upon the palace hearths. The dogs slept in their
kennels, and the horses in their stalls. Outside the birds slept on
the branches, and the drowsy bees slept in the drooping flowers. Not
even a leaf stirred upon a single tree within the castle yard, but all
was quiet and as still as death. A hedge of thorn trees shot up around
the palace and, in a single night, the hedge grew so thick that not a
chink of light shone through it, and so tall that not even the tallest
palace spire could be seen above it.

Years went by and Briar Rose was forgotten. No one living knew what
was hidden behind the great hedge. Old tales were sometimes told of a
beautiful princess who lay there asleep and, every now and then, a bold
young prince would try to force his way through the hedge; but the
thorns were so sharp that no one had ever caught so much as a glimpse
even of the old castle, in which this beautiful princess slept.

At last there came a handsome prince, bolder than all the others, who
cried, "I will break down this hedge! I will set this princess free!"
Now it happened that that very day ended the long sleep of the Briar
Rose. All the hundred summers had just passed by. The wish had come
true and it was now time for the beautiful princess to awake, but the
bold prince did not know this. He drew his sword. He rushed upon the
hedge, when, lo! the sharp thorns turned aside; the branches opened and
there before him stood the sleeping palace.