ONCE on a time there lived a king and a queen who were sad because they had no child. At length, when years had gone by, they had their wish —a girl child was born to them, and their joy knew no bounds. The king to show how pleased he was, gave a feast when the child was named, so grand that none like it had been seen up to that time. He asked all the fairies that could be found in. the land to come to the feast, so that each might give the baby princess some choice gift, as was the way with good fairies in those days. When they sat down to the feast there was set in front of each fairy a dish of pure gold, set with rich gems, as well as a plate, knife, fork, and spoon of gold. But just as they took their seats, in-to the hall came an old fairy who had not been asked, be-cause two score of years past she had gone off on a long trip, and had not since been heard of till this day. The king had a place made for her, but plain ware had to be put on for her, as but seven of the gold sets had been made. The old fairy looked on this as a slight, and made some dire threats in a low voice. A young fairy who sat near her, heard how she found fault, and feared she might give the child some evil gift ; so she went and hid be-hind the hangings, so that she might speak last, and thus un-do, as far as she could, the harm the old fairy might try to bring to pass. When the feast drew near its end the seven good fairies began to be-stow their gifts on the child. The first wished that she might be good : the second, that she might be wise ; the third, that she might be fair, and so on, till well nigh all good things that could be wished for had been given. Then the old fairy's turn came. She walked to the mid-die of the room, and with raised hand cried out, ''My gift to the child is —that when she is fifteen years old, she shall pierce her hand with a spin-die, and die of the wound." Then she turned, went out of the hall, and was seen no more. Her awful gift put all in a fright, and the king and queen and all the court began to cry and weep. But the young fairy who had staid be-hind the hangings now came forth. She could not un-do in full the work of the old fairy, but she could make the doom of the princess less hard. ' ' She shall not die. ' ' she said, ' ' but a deep sleep shall fall on her, which shall last a hundred years." To save his child from this sad fate, the king caused all the spin-dies in the land to be burnt. As the child grew up, all the good wishes of the fairies came true ; she was fair, wise, and good, and was loved by all who knew her. It came to pass that on the day that she was fifteen years old, the king and queen were not at home, and she was left to roam at will through the castle. She seized the chance to see parts of it in which she had never been be-fore, and went from room to room till she came to an old tower. She went up the stairs till she came to a small door. She turned the key, the door flew o-pen, and there in the room sat an old woman spinning flax. "How do you do, my good old lady?" said the princess. "What are you doing ? ' "I am spinning," said the woman. "What is that queer thing that flies round so fast ? ' ' asked the princess, and she took the spin-die in her hand as if she too would spin. She had no more than touched the spin-die when the bad wish came true —the point of the spin-die pricked her hand, and she fell back as if she were dead on a bed that stood near. At the same time a deep sleep fell on all in the castle. The king and queen, who had just come in, went to sleep in the hall, and all their suite with them. The beasts in their stalls, the doves on the roof, the flies on the wall, yes, and even the fire on the hearth, all ceased to stir and went to sleep. The meat stopped roasting, and the cook, who had raised his hand to cuff the boy who helped him, dropped his arm and went to sleep too. The wind died down, and not a leaf stirred on the trees near the castle. Soon a thick hedge of thorns sprang up, and grew so high, as years passed, that it hid the castle from sight, and not so much as the flag that waved from the tower could be seen. But the tale of the sleeping Brier Rose, as the princess was called, spread through the land, and from time to time sons of kings tried to reach the castle ; but one and all failed, for the thorns held them, as if by hands, and the young men died there because they could not get free. Years and years passed, and another king's son came to that part of the land. An old man who lived near the hedge told him of the castle and the fair princess, called Brier Rose, who had slept in it for a hundred years, and with her the king and queen and all their court. The old man told him too how he had heard from his grandfather of the young men who had lost their lives trying to pierce the hedge. The young prince cried out, "I have no fear. I will find the fair Brier Rose." The good old man tried to talk him out of it, but he would not hear a word. Just at that time came the last day of the hundred years when Brier Rose would wake from her sleep. As the prince drew near the hedge, in place of thorns he saw only flowers. In the court-yard he saw the horses and dogs as they lay sleeping. He went in the castle; all was still, the flies slept on the wall, the cook, and near him the kitchen boy, and the maid, all slept. He went on and in the hall he found the courtiers sleeping and near the throne lay the king and queen. He went from room to room, but heard no sound. At last he came to the room in the tower in which the princess was sleeping. He opened the door : there she lay, looking so fair he could not take his eyes from her. He stooped and kissed her ; at this Brier Rose opened her eyes, woke up, and smiled at the prince. Hand in hand they went out of the tower. They found the king and queen and all the courtiers a-wake, and staring one at another in surprise, and the whole castle was once more in motion as if nothing had occurred, for the hundred years of sleep had made no change in an-y one. By and by there was a grand wed-ding. The young prince made Brier Rose his wife, and they lived full of joy to the end of their days.