Building Reading Practice

Excerpt from The Book: "The Sleeping Beauty"

Once upon a time, there were a King and a Queen. They were very unhappy because they had no children for many years. Then one day, the queen gave birth to a lovely baby girl. And the whole kingdom was happy.They had a grand celebration and all the fairies in the kingdom were invited. Except for one, the old evil fairy. So when she heard about the celebration - she was angry!When it was time to gift the baby with special wishes, The good fairies wished her well. And the evil fairy cursed her that before the sun sets on her 16th birthday, She will touch the spindle of a spinning wheel and die.The king and queen were shocked and asked the fairy to forgive them and take her words back. But the fairy refused to do so. When the other fairies saw the king and queen crying, they said, “We cannot undo what the old fairy has spoken. But we certainly can make it different.""Your child shall not die when she touches the spindle. But she will fall into a deep sleep for a hundred years. Then, a prince will come along and wake her up." The king forbade everyone from spinning.Years passed. When the princess was sixteen years old, she was walking in the woods when she saw an old lady spinning. “What is this? May I try?” she asked.The old lady said, “Of course!” And the princess sat down to spin. But the moment she touched the spindle, she fell to the floor in a deep sleep. The other fairies cast a spell over the kingdom, Everyone, including the guards and the servants and the animals were now fast asleep, for a hundred years.After a hundred years, a young prince entered the palace and saw that everyone was sleeping. He found the sleeping princess and kiss her. Then, a hundred years had passed by, And everyone was waking up, one by one.The princess opened her eyes and woke up smiling. After a while, the prince and the princess fell in love with each other And got married.The king and the queen arranged for a royal wedding. The prince and princess were in love, And lived happily ever after.