Years passed, and from time to time a King's son would come to the famous briar hedge to try and find the mysterious sleeping Princess that the legend spoke of. But none got through. The hedge was too strong and the Princes were cut to bits.

　　A hundred years passed and the tale of the Sleeping Beauty, as the Princess was known, become a great legend. Very few people believed she existed.

　　One day a King's son came to the nearby village.

　　"Legend says," an old man was speaking in the village square. "Legend says that the Princess lies asleep behind that great briar hedge just outside the village In my grandfather's day, you could see the topmost turret of her tower, so they say."

　　The Prince stopped to listen. "Where can I find this hedge ?"he asked.

　　"Just beyond the village, young sir, "said the old man. "If you're going to try, you'll need more luck than the other young men who have had a go."

　　"I shall try," said the Prince. "We have heard of Sleeping Beauty in my kingdom."

　　The Prince went to the hedge and held up his sword. He went to strike at the hedge, but where his sword met the thorns, great roses bloomed instead. A path opened for him, for the one hundred years were up. The curse was lifting.

　　The hedge seemed to disappear before him.

　　He went through into the palace grounds, walking past the sleeping rabbits, birds and butterflies, and the gardeners at their work. The kitchens were full of cooks and maids who hadn't moved for a hundred years -- They were all fast asleep. Even the King and Queen who were seated at the table in the Great Hall were sleeping soundly!

　　The Prince walked on through the palace, making his way to the tallest tower where he climbed the stairs and entered the tower room.

　　There on the bed he saw Briar Rose fast asleep.

　　"She is so lovely," he said, He had fallen completely in love with her. "How can I wake her?"

　　He leant over and gently kissed her.

　　Briar Rose's eyelids flickered and she woke up. The first person she saw was the Prince and she fell in love with him.

　　Together they walked down to the Great Hall. The King and Queen were just waking up, when the Prince and Briar Rose entered.

　　The cooks in the kitchen woke up to carry on preparing the food and the chambermaids carried on with their work.

　　The party was still to be held, but it was an engagement party instead of a birthday party. The Prince and Briar Rose were to be married.

　　The hedge disappeared and the village saw the palace again and realised the legend had been true.

　　The bad fairy was never heard of again.

（The end)

     许多许多年过去了，一天，又有一位王子踏上了这块土地。一位老大爷向他讲起了蒺藜树丛的故事，说树篱之内有一座漂亮的王宫，王宫里有一位仙女般的公主，她的名字叫玫瑰公主，她和整座王宫及里面的人都在沉睡。他还说，他曾听他的爷爷谈起有许许多多的王子来过这儿，他们都想穿过树篱，但都被缠在里面死去了。听了这些，这位王子说：“所有这些都吓不倒我，我要看玫瑰公主去！”老人劝他不要去试，可他却坚持要去。

　　这天，时间正好过去了一百年，所以当王子来到树篱丛时，他看到的全是盛开着美丽花朵的灌木，他很轻松地就穿过了树篱。随着他在前面走，身后树篱又密密地合拢了。最后，他到达了王宫，看见大院内狗躺在那儿沉睡，马厩里的马在沉睡，屋顶上的鸽子将头埋在翅膀下沉睡。他走进王宫内，看见墙上的苍蝇在沉睡，厨房里的厨师向上举着手，似乎是要打那童工一耳光，一个女仆手里抓着一只黑母鸡准备拔毛。

　　他继续向里寻去，一切都静得出奇，连自己的呼吸都清晰可闻。终于，他来到古老的宫楼，推开了玫瑰公主在的那个小房间的门。玫瑰公主睡得正香，她是那么美丽动人，他瞪大眼睛，连眨也舍不得眨一下，看着看着，禁不住俯下身去吻了她一下。就这一吻，玫瑰公主一下子苏醒过来，她张开双眼，微笑着充满深情地注视着他，王子抱着她一起走出了宫楼。

　　此刻，国王和王后也醒过来了，王宫里所有的人都醒过来了。他们怀着极大的好奇心互相凝视着，似乎还不明白到底发生了什么事情。马站了起来，摇摆着身体；狗儿欢跳不止，汪汪吠叫；鸽子由翅膀下抬起了头，昂首四顾，振翅飞向田野；墙上的苍蝇嗡嗡地飞了开去；厨房里的火又窜起了火苗开始烧饭，烧烤的肉又吱吱作响；厨师怒吼着扇了童工一个耳光；女仆继续给鸡拔毛，一切都恢复了往日的模样。不久，王子和玫瑰公主举行了盛大的结婚典礼，他们幸福欢乐地生活在一起，一直白头到老。

(完）