Lesson 6: Sleeping Beauty
Once upon a time, a king and a queen had a beautiful baby girl. They had a big party to celebrate this happy event. They invited everyone. Three good fairies came to the party, and they each gave a magical gift to the baby-girl.
The first fairy said, “I give you the gift of beauty.”
“I give you a sweet voice.” said the second fairy.
The third fairy was about to give the baby her gift when an evil fairy entered the room. The evil fairy was the only person in the kingdom who had not been invited to the party, so she was very angry. She cursed the baby.
“On your sixteenth birthday,” she said. “You will die when you prick your finger on a spinning wheel!”
Everyone was sad to hear this. They cried for the baby princess.
Then the third fairy said, “I can’t stop the curse, but I can change it. On the princess’s sixteenth birthday, she won’t die. Instead, she will fall asleep for one hundred years. Then, the kiss of a prince will awake her from her long sleep.”
The king wanted to protect his daughter. He ordered that all the spinning wheels in the kingdom be burned. But on her sixteenth birthday, the princess found a secret room in the palace. There, an old woman was spinning some yarn. The old woman invited the princess to learn to spin. The princess quickly pricked her finger and fell asleep for one hundred years. The three good fairies also made all the people in the kingdom fall asleep too.
Many years passed. A mysterious forest grew around the palace. Many young men tried to enter the palace, but they were not successful. One day, a brave prince entered the palace. He found the sleeping princess and kissed her. Immediately, the princess opened her eyes. The Prince married The Princess and they lived happily ever after.
Vocabulary:
Event: Something important that happens. 催し.
Example sentence: This year’s Olympic Games will be the biggest ever sporting event.
Invite: To ask someone to do something or go somewhere. 招く.
Example sentence: We’re invited to Lola’s party.
Enter: To come or go into. 入る.
Example sentence: The police entered the room through the door.
Curse: Magic words that bring bad luck to someone. 呪い.
Example sentence: In the story, a wicked witch puts a curse on the princess for a hundred years.
Prick: Making holes in something. 突く.
Example sentence: She pricked the balloon with a pin and it burst with a loud bang.
Order: Something that someone tells you you must do. 命令.
Example sentence: Soldiers must obey orders.
Burn: To be hurt by a fire. 焼く.
Example sentence: She burned his old love letters.
Grammar:
About to {verb}
The third fairy was about to give the baby her gift when an evil fairy entered the room.
I am about to go.
She is about to finish dinner.
Contractions**
I can’t stop the curse, but I can change it.
On the princess’s sixteenth birthday, she won’t die.
I haven’t seen him.
**A Contraction is when you shorten words in English. For example, we may say “he’s” instead of “he is”. We usually insert an apostrophe (‘) in place of the missing letter or letters in writing. For more information on contractions, go to this website: https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/contractions.htm (Links to an external site.).