The King and Queen plan an opulent feast to celebrate the birth of their long-awaited daughter, Dornröschen. They invite not only the members of the court, but also the fairies, so that they may bestow wealth and virtue on the Princess. But there are thirteen fairies, and only twelve golden plates - so the king instructs his messenger to leave one fairy out, the Fairy of Industry. Furious, she arrives at the celebration and curses the child: on her fifteenth birthday, the child will prick her finger on a spindle and die. Luckily the curse can be made milder, and the twelfth fairy proclaims that when Dornröschen pricks her finger, she will not die, but fall asleep for 100 years, along with the entire court. In an attempt to prevent the curse from taking effect, the King orders that all spindles in the kingdom be burned. But nothing can stop the Fairy of Industry's curse. On her fifteenth birthday, Dornröschen is left alone in the castle, and she finds the thirteenth fairy in a tower, with the last spindle in the kingdom. As predicted, Dornröschen pricks her finger, falls asleep, and the court must wait 100 years for a prince to awaken them.