Perrault, Charles. "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood." Old French Fairy Tales, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 328-341.
Tale Summary
Perrault’s version of Sleeping Beauty is quite different from versions popular today. When the king and queen fail to invite an elderly fairy to their daughter’s Christening, she arrives and curses the child. Another fairy, who had not yet bestowed her blessing on the child, states that when the princess wounds her hand on a spindle, she will fall asleep for 100 years, rather than die. While her parents are away, sixteen-year old Beauty discovers an old woman spinning and pricks her finger falling into a deep sleep. A fairy, summoned by a dwarf in seven league boots, returns to put the entire castle and all who work there under a sleeping spell and then. One hundred years later, a prince makes his way to the castle, falls in love with her after hearing her story, and enters Beauty’s bedroom just as she awakens. The two marry and have two children, Aurora and Apollo, but the prince does not tell his mother of his new family until two years later when the King dies. Perrault’s version differs from the versions popular today, because the second half of the tale includes the prince’s mother, who is an ogress. The Ogress Queen wishes to eat Beauty and her children while her son is away at war, but her plan is foiled by a kind cook who save the family and serves up various animals. At the end of the tale, the Queen commits suicide by diving into a vat of poisonous snakes when she had prepared to kill Beauty, the children, the cook, and his family.
Fairy Tale Title
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)
Charles Perrault
Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)Â
None listed
Common Tale TypeÂ
Sleeping Beauty
Tale Classification
ATU 410
Page Range of TaleÂ
pp. 328-341
Full Citation of TaleÂ
Perrault, Charles. "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood." Old French Fairy Tales, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1899, pp. 328-341.
Original Source of the Tale
Charles Perrault
Tale Notes
Perrault’s version of the tale focuses more on the prince’s mother than on Sleeping Beauty. This translation of Perrault’s tale includes nine black and white illustrations. Except the scene of the fairies at the Christening which is a full page illustration, all of the images are smaller and embedded in the text of the tale. Instead of captions, there are phrases in italics that link the text to the images.
Research and Curation
Olivia Gold, 2020
Book TitleÂ
Old French Fairy Tales
Book Author/Editor(s)Â
Charles Perrault, Madame D'Aulnoy, etc.
Illustrator(s)
"Two hundred illustrations by the most celebrated French artists"
Publisher
Little, Brown, and Company
Date Published
1899
Decade PublishedÂ
1890-1899
Publisher City
Boston
Publisher Country
United States
Language
English
Rights
Public Domain
Digital Copy
Book Notes
None