The Sleeping Beauty ballet story for kids: a short retelling

The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet with music by Tchaikovsky. It tells the fairy tale of Princess Aurora, who pricks her finger on a spindle and sleeps for a hundred years. It has good fairies, a wicked fairy, and a wedding where Puss in Boots and Little Red Riding Hood are guests. This page tells the story scene by scene, in words to read aloud.

Quick facts

• Music by: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• First danced: 1890, in St. Petersburg
• Parts: a prologue and three acts
• Length: close to three hours on stage, with breaks
• Based on: the fairy tale as told by the French writer Charles Perrault
• Good to know: it is long, and some companies stage a shorter version for families

Who is who

• Princess Aurora: the sleeping beauty
• The King and the Queen: her parents
• The Lilac Fairy: the wisest of the good fairies
• Carabosse: the wicked fairy, who was left off the guest list
• Catalabutte: the master of ceremonies, who wrote the guest list
• The four princes: Aurora’s suitors
• The Prince: the one who wakes her, a hundred years later

Prologue: the christening

A king and queen have waited a long time for a child. Now they have a daughter, Aurora, and they hold a grand party for her.

Six good fairies arrive with gifts for the baby. Each fairy dances, and each dance is a gift, such as beauty, grace, or a kind heart.

Thunder rolls. A carriage pulled by rats bursts in. It is the wicked fairy Carabosse, and she is furious. No one sent her an invitation. The master of ceremonies trembles, for the mistake was his.

Carabosse gives the baby a gift too. Aurora will grow up to be all that the fairies have promised. Then, one day, she will prick her finger on a spindle and die.

The Lilac Fairy steps forward. She has not yet given her gift. She cannot undo the curse, and she can soften it. Aurora will not die. She will fall asleep for a hundred years, until a kiss wakes her.

The King bans every spindle in the kingdom.

Act 1: the birthday

Aurora is sixteen today. The whole court gathers in the garden, and villagers dance a waltz with garlands of flowers.

Four princes have come from far lands to ask for her hand. Aurora dances with each one in turn, and each gives her a rose.

An old woman in a dark cloak holds out a present. It is a strange thing that Aurora has never seen: a spindle. She dances with it, delighted. Her parents cry out, too late. She pricks her finger and falls.

The old woman throws back her hood. It is Carabosse. She laughs and is gone.

The Lilac Fairy comes, as she promised. Aurora is asleep, and she is not dead. The fairy waves her wand, and the whole court falls asleep where it stands: the King, the Queen, the guards, and the cooks. A forest of thorns grows up around the castle and hides it.

Act 2: the vision

A hundred years go by.

A young prince is out hunting with his friends. He is tired of games and sends the others away. The Lilac Fairy appears to him. She shows him a vision of a sleeping princess, and he falls in love with her at once.

The fairy leads him to her boat. They sail through the mist to the hidden castle. Cobwebs hang from every wall, and everyone in it is fast asleep.

The Prince finds Aurora and kisses her. She opens her eyes. The King yawns, the guards stretch, and the cobwebs fall away. The spell is broken.

Act 3: the wedding

The whole kingdom comes to the wedding, and so do the people of other fairy tales.

• Puss in Boots and the White Cat hiss and swat at each other.
• The Bluebird and his princess flutter and leap.
• Little Red Riding Hood tiptoes through the woods with the Wolf behind her.

Aurora and her prince dance together. The Lilac Fairy blesses them, and the curtain falls.

What to watch for

Stories told with hands. In the prologue, Carabosse and the Lilac Fairy “speak” in gestures. Watch for the signs for “she will grow up,” “prick her finger,” and “sleep.”

The Rose Adagio. In Act 1, Aurora balances on the tip of one foot while each of the four princes takes her hand in turn. She lets go and holds the balance alone each time. Dancers know it as one of the hardest moments in ballet.

The Bluebird. In Act 3, the dancer who plays the Bluebird jumps with quick, beating legs, as if he were flying.

Two tunes that fight. The music for Carabosse is loud and jagged. The music for the Lilac Fairy is calm and singing. Listen for which one wins each scene.

Read the Sleeping Beauty listening guide.

How it differs from the film and the book

• The fairies. The ballet has six good fairies and one wicked one. Other versions have three, seven, or twelve.
• The prince. In the ballet, he does not meet Aurora before she falls asleep. A hundred years lie between them.
• The dragon. Most versions of the ballet have no dragon and no battle. The Lilac Fairy guides the Prince past every danger.
• The music. A famous cartoon film of the story from 1959 borrowed Tchaikovsky’s tunes for its songs.

Things to do together

Give a gift with a dance. Each fairy’s dance is a gift. Make up a short dance that means “courage” or “laughter.”

Speak with your hands. Tell the curse with no words: a baby, growing tall, a prick of the finger, and sleep.

Freeze the castle. Dance to the waltz. When the music stops, fall asleep in whatever pose you are in.

Balance like Aurora. Stand on one foot and let go of the wall. Count how long you can hold it.

Invite a guest. Choose one more fairy-tale character to come to the wedding. Make up a dance for them.

Questions to ask

• Why was Carabosse so angry?
• Was the Lilac Fairy’s gift the best one?
• What would it be like to wake up a hundred years later?
• Which wedding guest would you like to play?

Print and play

Draw the castle asleep on a listening journal page. Read ballet stories for kids, the Swan Lake story, and the Nutcracker story.