An old fairy, they presumed to be dead, showed up at their party and was upset she was not invited. As the fairies gave the princess their blessings the old fairy stood in line waiting to do the same. Only, instead of a blessing she placed a curse on the princess that she would prick her finger and die. One of the other fairies quickly changed the curse that the princess would fall asleep for 100 years instead of die.

When the King and Queen heard this they ordered all the spindles to be removed from the castle. All went well until the princess reached the age of 16. The princess wandered upon a woman spinning and asked what she was doing. The princess managed to prick her finger and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

"The next known version of the tale came from Giambattista Basile's "Sun, Moon, and Talia" also known more formally as Il Pentamerone, Day 5, Tale 5 (1636)."

"After Perrault, the Grimms wrote down "Briar Rose" for their own collection of tales. This version is the tamest and does not involve any of the cannibalism, adultery or rape that is found in some of the earlier renditions." — SurLaLune Fairy Tales