Princess
French literary fairy tale
written by Madame d'Aulnoy
in 1697
MAYBLOSSOM
ONCE upon a time a king and queen had lost all their
children, and were most anxious about a daughter newly born
to them. The queen dismissed a hideous woman who put
herself forth as a nurse, but every woman she hired was
instantly killed. The king realized that the ugly woman was
the Fairy Carabosse, who had hated him since he played a
prank on her as a child. They tried to christen their daughter in
secret, but Carabosse cursed her to be miserable her first
twenty years. The last fairy godmother could only promise
that her life would be long and happy after those twenty years.
The eldest fairy advised that the princess be kept in a tower to
minimize the harm.