enchantment was at an end.

"But who knows how great the danger may be?" added the old man. "No one
has entered the palace for a hundred years!"

"I will brave the danger, whatever it may be!" exclaimed Prince
Courageous. "I will find the sleeping princess or lose my life!"

So Prince Courageous mounted his horse and rode through the woods until
he came to the tall thorn hedge. He made his way through the underbrush.

The briers were thick and the thorns sharp, but Prince Courageous was
strong and brave.

He knocked at the gate, but there was no answer. The prince opened the
gate and entered the courtyard.

All was silence in the palace hall. Only the sound of his own footsteps
could Prince Courageous hear.

Everybody was fast asleep--the horses in their stalls, the pigeons on
the roof, the birds in their nests, the servants in the halls, the king
and queen on their golden throne.

Prince Courageous tiptoed through the silent rooms. Finally, he reached
the narrow stairway that led to the tower.

The prince climbed the winding stairs. There, beside the spinning wheel,
lay the beautiful princess, fast asleep.