But the hundred years had elapsed, as foretold, and the day came on which Thorny Rose was to wake up. When the prince approached the hedge of thorns, it burst into bloom before him with big, beautiful roses that parted in his path and let him pass through unharmed, and the hedge closed behind him. In the castle courtyard the prince saw the horses and spotted hunting hounds all lying fast asleep, on the rooftop sleeping doves sat with their wings folded over their little heads. And when he entered the royal dwelling, he saw flies asleep on the wall, the cook slumbering in the kitchen with his hand raised as if he meant to swipe the kitchen boy, and the scullery maid sitting in front of a black chicken ready to be plucked. The prince walked on and everything was so silent you could hear yourself breathing. Finally he came to the tower and opened the door to the little room in which Thorny Rose slept. There she lay, and she was so lovely that he could not take his eyes off her. He bent down and gave her a kiss. As soon as his lips grazed hers, she opened her eyes, awakened, and regarded him with a smile. Then the two went hand in hand down the stairs, and the king and queen awakened, as did the entire court, everyone eyeing each other with great astonishment. And the horses in the yard stood up and shook themselves, the hunting hounds leapt up and wagged their tails, the doves on the rooftop poked their little heads out from under their wings, looked around, and flew out into the field, the flies on the walls crawled on, the fire flickered in the oven and cooked the dinner, a roast began to sizzle, the cook boxed the kitchen boy’s ears and the boy cried out, and the scullery maid finished plucking the chicken. Whereupon the wedding of the prince and Thorny Rose was celebrated in pomp and splendor, and they lived happily together until the end of their days.
CINDERELLA
The wife of a rich man fell ill, and when she felt that her end was near she called her only child, a daughter, to her bed and said, “Dear child, stay pious and good. God will always stand by you, and I will peer down from heaven and look after you.” Whereupon the woman closed her eyes and died. Every day the girl went to her mother’s grave and wept, and she remained pious and good. When winter came, the snow draped a little white shroud over the grave, and come spring, when the sun pulled it off again, the man took another wife.
The new wife brought two daughters with her, both pale and lovely to look at but cruel and black-hearted. Things went badly for the poor orphaned child. “We can’t let the foolish ninny sit around all day doing nothing in her room,” they said. “If she wants to eat, let her earn it – to work with you!” They took away her lovely clothes and gave her an old gray smock and wooden shoes to wear. “Just look at the proud little princess, what a grand getup!” They taunted her, laughed, and led her to the kitchen. She had to do hard work from morning until night, rise before sunrise, go fetch water from the well, light the fire, cook and wash for them. On top of which her stepsisters did her any nasty turns that came to mind, poked fun at her, poured peas and lentils into the ashes and made her pick them out. And in the evening, when she was weary from working, they gave her no bed to sleep in but made her lie down beside the oven in the cinder and ash. And since she was always dusty and dirty, they called her “Cinderella.”
One day the father prepared to go to the fair, so he asked his two stepdaughters what he might bring them.
“Pretty clothes,” said the one.
“Pearls and diamonds,” said the other.
“And you, Cinderella, what would you like?”
“Father,” she said, “I’d like the first stalk that strikes your hat on your way home. Break it off and bring it to me.”
For the two stepsisters he bought dresses, pearls, and diamonds, and on the way home, as he rode through a bush, a stalk of winterbloom grazed his coat and knocked his hat off. So he broke the stalk off and took it with him. When he got home he gave the stepsisters what they’d asked for, and he gave Cinderella the stalk of grain. She thanked him, then went to her mother’s grave and planted the stalk beside it, and she cried so hard that the tears dripped down and watered it. The stalk took root and grew into a great tree. Three times a day Cinderella went to huddle beneath it, where she wept and prayed, and every time a little white bird flew by and landed on a branch, and every time the girl whispered a wish, the little bird let fall what she’d wished for.
Now it came to pass that the king announced a great festivity that was to last for three days, and to which all the lovely young girls in the land were invited so that his son might pick a bride. As soon as the two stepsisters received their invitations they got all giddy, called for Cinderella, and said, “Comb our hair, polish our shoes, and fasten our clasps – we’re off to the king’s castle to make a royal match.” Cinderella did as she was told but wept in silence, for she too wanted to go along to the ball, and so she asked her stepmother’s permission.