TRUE STORIES OF DISNEY PRINCESSES

Sleeping Beauty by Giambattista Basile

A/N:

Original Title: Sun, Moon and Talia. Talia is Sleeping Beauty, hindi Aurora. Baka malito kayo e.

There once lived a great lord who was blessed with the birth of a beautiful infant daughter, whom he named Talia. The lord sent for wise men and astrologers to foretell what fate had in store for his daughter, and after they had consulted together and cast her horoscope, they told the lord that Talia would be put in great danger by a splinter of flax. The lord then decreed that no flax or hemp, or anything of the kind, should be brought into the house; he thought that by doing so he could protect his daughter from her fate.

One day, after Talia had grown up into a beautiful young girl, she was looking out the window when she saw an old woman pass by, spinning on a spindle. Talia was so curious about the implement, having never seen one, that she called out to the old woman to stop and let her see it. Talia begged to be allowed to stretch the flax, but as soon as she did so, a splinter of flax went under her nail, and she dropped down dead. When the frightened old woman saw what had happened, she ran quickly out of the house.

When the unhappy father heard about this disastrous turn of events, he was devastated. He had Talia's body laid out in her most beautiful clothes, and placed upon a brocade-covered dais. Unable to bear the thought of committing her body to the ground, he had the throne placed in a palatial room in one of his country estates, and then abandoned the estate forever.

After some time had passed, a king was one day hunting in the forest near the estate, and his falcon escaped from him and flew in the window of the palace. It would not return when he called for it, so the king sent a servant to knock at the palace door, intending to ask for the bird's return. There was no answer at the door, and the house was locked fast, so the young king at last told his servants he himself would scale the wall and climb in at the window in order to retrieve the bird. So he climbed in and wandered the palace from room to room, but he found nothing and no one. At last he came to a large, beautiful drawing room, where he found an enchanting girl who seemed to be sleeping. He called to her, but she would not wake. As he looked at her, and tried to wake her, she seemed so incredibly lovely to him that he could not help desiring her, and he began to grow hot with lust. He gathered her in his arms and carried her to a bed, where he made love to her. Leaving her on the bed, he left the palace and returned to his own city, where pressing business for a long time made him think no more about the incident.

But Talia, who was not dead, but merely unconscious, had become pregnant, and after nine months she gave birth to twins, as beautiful a boy and girl as ever were born. Kindly fairies attended the birth, and put the babies to suck at their mother's breast. One day, one of the infants, not being able to find the nipple, began to suck at his mother's finger. He sucked with such force that he drew out the splinter of flax, and Talia awoke, just as if from a long sleep. When she saw the babies, she did not know what had happened or how they had come to her, but she embraced them with love, and nursed them until they were satisfied. She named the infants Sun and Moon. The kindly fairies continued to attend her, providing her with food and drink, which appeared as if delivered by unseen servants.

The king at last remembered Talia, and thought to himself that he would go again to the palace in the wood, to see if the lovely lady was still sleeping there. Saying he was going hunting, he journeyed to the place, and was overjoyed to find her awake, and with two charming little toddlers. He told Talia who he was, and what had happened, and how she had come to be a mother all unknowing. As they conversed, they both realized they were forming a stronger bond of friendship and love, and after a few days, when it came time for the young king to leave, he promised to return for her soon, and bring her to his kingdom. As he journeyed back, he found he was indeed desperately in love with Talia and his two children, and he could hardly sleep for thinking of them, and when he did sleep he called out their names in his dreams.