a glimpse of the turrets peeping above a thick wood, inquired
what building it was that he saw. Every one answered according to what
they had heard. Some said it was an old castle, that was haunted;
others, that it was a place of meeting for all the witches in the land;
while the most prevailing opinion was, that it belonged to an ogre, who
was in the habit of stealing little children, and carrying them home to
eat them unmolested, and nobody could follow him, since he alone had the
power of penetrating through the thicket. The prince did not know what
to make of all these different accounts, when an old peasant said to
him: "Please your royal highness, it is now above fifty years since I
heard my father tell that the most beautiful princess ever seen was
concealed in this palace, where she was condemned to sleep for a hundred
years, at the end of which she was to be awakened by a king's son, whose
bride she was destined to become."

On hearing this, the young prince's fancy was so inflamed with the hope
of being himself the hero destined to end the enchantment, that he
immediately determined to ascertain how far the legend might prove true.
No sooner did he reach the wood, than the large trees, as well as the
briars and brambles, opened a passage for him of their own accord. He
now advanced towards the castle, which he could perceive at the end of a
long avenue, but, to his surprise, he found that none of his attendants
had been able to follow him, the trees having closed upon them the
moment he had passed through. Nevertheless, he proceeded on his way
without the least concern, for a young prince who begins to feel himself
in love must needs be brave. So he entered the outer court-yard, where
he witnessed a sight that might have appalled one less resolute than
himself. The image of death was everywhere present. The bodies of men
and animals lay strewn about, apparently lifeless, and the silence was
truly awful. Still, he soon perceived, by the rubicund noses and jolly
faces of the porters, that they were only asleep; while their goblets,
still retaining a few drops of wine, proved beyond a doubt that sleep
had surprised them in the midst of a drunken bout. He then passed
through a large court, paved with marble, and entered the guard-room,
where he found a double row of soldiers shouldering their carbines, and
snoring loudly. He next crossed through several rooms, full of ladies
and gentlemen in waiting, some standing