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 shall indeed pierce her hand with a spindle, but instead of dying she shall only fall into a profound sleep, which shall last an hundred years; at the expiration of which a King’s son shall come and awake her from it!

The king, to avoid this misfortune, told by the splenetic and malicious Fairy, caused immediataly his royal proclamation to be issued forth, whereby every person was forbidden; upon the pain of death, to spin with a distaff or spindle, nay, even so much as to have spindle in any of their houses.

About 15 or 16 years after, the King and Queen having gone to one of their houses of pleasure, the young Princess happened to divert herself in going up and down the palace, when going up from one apartment to another,, she at length came into a liitle room on the top of a tower where a good old woman, all alone, was spinning with her spindle.

This good woman had not heard of the King’s proclamation issued forth against spindles.

What are you doing there, Goody? said the Princess. I am spinning, my pretty child, said the old women, who