Dornröschen (1971)

To celebrate the birth of the king’s daughter, the king and queen hold a feast. Although the king had actually wanted a son, he grants his daughter Rosalinda the right to inherit the kingdom. Because there is one place setting missing, the king decides that not all thirteen great fairies of the kingdom can be invited. He does not invite the Fairy of Diligence, because he considers her gift insignificant. On the day of the feast, the fairy comes anyway, furious that she was not invited. She interrupts the other fairies, who are in the middle of expressing their wishes and gifts for Rosalinda. She also strongly reproaches the king for the way he rules his kingdom, but he treats her disrespectfully and orders her out of the castle. In her anger, the fairy pronounces a curse instead of a spell: the king’s daughter is to prick herself on a spindle on her fifteenth birthday and die. Having said this, she appears to leave the castle, but in fact goes into a tower, which the king orders locked. He then banishes the fairy and also dismisses the guard who let her into the castle. The other fairies agree that the thirteenth fairy was right, but they do not think Princess Rosalinda should have to pay for the king’s arrogance. The twelfth fairy, who has not yet spoken her gift, counters the curse instead. The princess will not die, but will sleep for a hundred years, along with the entire court. The fairies leave the castle and never show themselves to the king again. The king orders every spindle in his kingdom to be collected and burned, under threat of severe punishment, regardless of the fact that a large portion of the women in his kingdom earn their living by spinning. Those now living in poverty curse the selfish king. Fifteen years pass, during which all the fairies’ wishes for Rosalinda come true. She seems to be a perfect princess, full of virtues, and neither the people nor the castle staff have anything against her. On her fifteenth birthday, however, her parents have ridden out hunting with the country’s nobility. Rosalinda wanders through the castle alone and finds the tower, which is surrounded by a tall fence. Out of curiosity, she goes inside and finds the thirteenth fairy spinning. Because of the ban, the princess has never seen a spindle anywhere in the country, and she is happy to let the fairy teach her how to use one. Meanwhile, the members of the court have returned, but since they are celebrating, no one asks where the princess is. While changing the spindle, Rosalinda pricks her finger. The fairy is not angry with Rosalinda at all, because she has grown into a kindhearted girl even without the diligence the fairy had bestowed on her. When the princess falls asleep, every living being at the royal court falls asleep with her. The fairy takes her spindle and leaves the castle, around which a tall thorn hedge grows. Before leaving, however, she says that Rosalinda will wake only if a prince who loves her kisses her awake. A hundred years later, in a land that has long been without a king, people tell of Princess “Sleeping Beauty,” who is said to lie in an enchanted sleep in the castle behind the hedge. Daring princes and nobles who have heard of the king’s riches try to break into the castle, but fail miserably. One of these men is very bitter and, at an inn, gets angry with a minstrel who is telling the story of Sleeping Beauty. When he tries to forbid the minstrel to sing, threatening him with violence, another prince intervenes. A coin bearing Rosalinda’s portrait falls out in the commotion. Fascinated by the girl’s beauty, the prince buys the coin from the rude young man for several coins of equal value. The minstrel tells him that this is the legendary Princess Sleeping Beauty, whom the minstrel’s grandfather, the royal gardener, knew personally. The prince sets off for the thorn hedge, where he encounters another failed adventurer who warns him not to ride to his certain death. But the prince ignores all the warnings and rides on. Near the castle, he meets a seemingly ordinary woman who is, in fact, the thirteenth fairy. She asks him for help: an eagle has stolen her spindle and taken it to its nest. The prince agrees to help her, climbs a steep cliff, and brings the spindle back to her. The fairy promises him a rich reward and takes him to a cave, where she tempts him three times: with great riches, with fame and honor, or with a beautiful, educated princess who will be his if he wants her. The prince refuses. He wants only to know the way to Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The fairy shows him the way and disappears. When he reaches the hedge, the prince tries to cut through it with his sword—but suddenly the whole hedge is covered in roses and parts, allowing him to pass unhindered. Finding the entire court asleep, he goes to the tower, where he finds Sleeping Beauty asleep and kisses her. The princess wakes and falls in love with the prince at once. When she comes out of the tower with him, the court wakes too. The prince asks Sleeping Beauty’s father for the princess’s hand, but the king says that unless he is rich and powerful and owns a great kingdom, he is not good enough for his daughter. At that moment, the thirteen fairies intervene. The thirteenth sharply reprimands the king and explains that his word has long held no value within the kingdom. Rosalinda and the prince are to rule from then on, because, unlike the king, they have a sense of justice. The castle staff celebrate Sleeping Beauty’s wedding with her, driving away the arrogant nobility as they do so. After all these years, the thirteenth fairy finally gives Rosalinda a gift: her spindle. Explaining that her people want to learn to spin again, she asks Sleeping Beauty to demonstrate.