Briar-Rose

Characters: Storyteller, King, Queen, Princess Briar - Rose, Page, Captain, Soldiers, Fairies, Wicked Fairy, and Prince.

Scene I
Setting: A room at the palace.
Storyteller: Once upon a time, in a far off land there lived a King and a King. They were happy. For at last they had a little baby girl they had longed for.
Queen (as she rocks the cradle):
Oh, go to sleep my baby.
Close your pretty eyes
While I sing you a lullabie

(Addressing the King): My King, no one knows of our baby yet.
King: No my queen, we must spread the good news throughout the land. (He claps his hands and the Page walks up).
Page: Yes your majesty
King: Send my Captain to me.
Page: Yes your majesty
Captain (enter the room): Yes your majesty?
King: March with your soldiers throughout the land and tell the people that a Princess has been born.
Captain: Yes your majesty. (Goes away).
All the soldiers (marching around a ring):
Spread the news,
Spread the news
Far and wide,
A princess has been born,
A princess has been born.
King (to the Queen): She is a dear little baby. What shall we call her?
Queen: Lets call her Briar - Rise.
King: Briar - Rose. That’s a lovely name.
Queen: Now we must invite the good fairies to come bless our little Briar - Rose.
King: My Queen, I shall go and invite them to come.
Storyteller: And seven fairies came.
The First Fairy: Briar - Rose, you shall have a beautiful face.
The Second Fairy: You shall think beautiful thoughts
The Third Fairy: You shall do kind deeds.
The Fourth Fairy: You shall dance like a fairy.
The Fifth Fairy: You shall sing like a nightingale.
The Sixth Fairy: You shall be clever.
The Seventh Fairy: You shall be happy.
Queen: Thank you good fairies.
All the fairies:
Sleep little baby, fairies are near,
They have blessed you my little dear.
Sleep little baby, sleep little baby
(Suddenly the Wicked Fairy appears. She looks angry).
Wicked Fairy: You did not invite me to come and bless your baby so I have come to punish her instead.
Queen: You shall not touch my baby!
Wicked Fairy: I do not want to touch her, but I tell you this! On her fifteenth birthday she will prick her finger with a spindle and die!
Queen (tearfully): My baby, my baby!
The First Fairy: Do not weep, Queen. Your daughter will not die. She will sleep for a hundred years, and a prince will wake her up and marry her (the fairies go away).
King (to the Queen): Do not be sad, my Queen. The Fairies have promised that our daughter will not die.
Queen: But I don’t want her to prick her finger and I do not want her to sleep for a hundred years.
King: Then we will forbid spindles to be used in any house. The punishment will be death. (He claps his hands and the Page walks up.)
Page: Yes your majesty.
King: Send my Captain to me.
Page: yes your majesty.
Captain (entering the room): Yes your majesty?