Sleeping Beauty: A tale of a not-so-sleepy-baby, a sleepy prince, and vanilla cupcakes.

Catherine Carr, Illustrated by Virginia Green

Now of course you know the story of Sleeping Beauty, but perhaps you don’t know the whole story. Yes, there was the king and queen, who wished for a baby, and were overjoyed when at last their daughter was born. But the real reason they named her Aurora is that every day she was up at the crack of dawn, and they had quite a time trying to get her to sleep again. They rocked her in the royal cradle. They bounced her in the royal bouncy chair. They sang lullabies as they walked her round and round the royal rose garden. They even drove her around the neighborhood in the royal carriage, until she finally drifted off. Now even though the king and queen, like all new parents, were rather tired, the queen decided to hold a royal ball in Aurora’s honor. The castle buzzed with preparations. Vanilla cupcakes were baked. Flowers were arranged. Music was selected. The queen stayed up late inviting the entire kingdom, with the four forest fairies as special guests.