with a high red cap on her head, and red shoes with high heels on her
feet, and a long white wand in her hand: and after the feast was over
they gathered round in a ring and gave all their best gifts to the
little princess. One gave her goodness, another beauty, another
riches, and so on till she had all that was good in the world.

Just as eleven of them had done blessing her, a great noise was heard
in the courtyard, and word was brought that the thirteenth fairy was
come, with a black cap on her head, and black shoes on her feet, and a
broomstick in her hand: and presently up she came into the dining-
hall. Now, as she had not been asked to the feast she was very angry,
and scolded the king and queen very much, and set to work to take her
revenge. So she cried out, 'The king's daughter shall, in her
fifteenth year, be wounded by a spindle, and fall down dead.' Then the
twelfth of the friendly fairies, who had not yet given her gift, came
forward, and said that the evil wish must be fulfilled, but that she
could soften its mischief; so her gift was, that the king's daughter,
when the spindle wounded her, should not really die, but should only
fall asleep for a hundred years.

However, the king hoped still to save his dear child altogether from
the threatened evil; so he ordered that all the spindles in the
kingdom should be bought up and burnt. But all the gifts of the first
eleven fairies were in the meantime fulfilled; for the princess was so
beautiful, and well behaved, and good, and wise, that everyone who
knew her loved her.

It happened that, on the very day she was fifteen years old, the king
and queen were not at home, and she was left alone in the palace. So
she roved about by herself, and looked at all the rooms and chambers,