The Sleeper and The Spindle:Mashup of Two Fairy Tales

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Sleeper and The Spindle is a mashup of two fairy tales that you have probably read when you were young, but as with all Neil Gaiman’s works, this one has a different twist to it.

The tale began with three dwarves looking for the finest gift to give their Queen on her wedding day. And because these are dwarves, they traveled underground until they reached the kingdom of Kanselaire where they wanted to buy the finest silk of Dorimar. Only when they arrived there, there was a sleeping sickness that is rapidly spreading. The innkeeper and the rest of the guests were able to give the dwarves a bit of information on what is going with their town before they too succumbed to sleep. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1yvbXJDz1c”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It appears that there was a princess who fell in deep sleep after pricking her finger on a spindle in the topmost tower of the castle. The castle was now overgrown with roses and thorns. Anyone who tried to break the curse that was placed on the sleeping princess wasn’t successful.

The dwarves did a look-see around the town before venturing back to their Queen, who had jet black hair, and pale skin the color of snow, to tell her of the magic that was surrounding the kingdom of Kanselaire. 

And so, the adventure of the Queen and her faithful dwarves began. 

Now, I grew up reading fairy tales where the princesses become enchanted by witches or evil stepmothers, and that they await a prince or knight in shining armor to save them. Neil Gaiman’s version, on the other hand, is more rewarding to read especially when you get to the ending. I will not give away much, especially when you haven’t read the book, but this is worth adding to your collection of children’s books.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What I loved about this story is that it is not your usual fairy tale. There are no princes or knights, (Sorry, guys!) but in it is this Queen who had taken upon herself to solve this mystery and to see if she could break the curse on the sleeping princess. It’s a short story, mind you, but one that has this creepy factor to it, once you arrive in the kingdom itself. The question now is, did the Queen and her faithful dwarves make it? Were they able to save the princess? And what was the twist that Gaiman wrought in this retelling of two beloved fairy tales? 

The Sleeper and the Spindle got a 10 out of 10 for me because of how effortlessly Neil Gaiman wrote two distinct stories into one with stunning illustrations from Chris Riddell. If you haven’t gotten a copy of this, I would suggest that you get one.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]