INTRO: Sleeping Beauty slept 100 years… not by choice. But by the time she woke up, the world had forgotten her… right? Except for the guy who found her. And… then he got to keep her as his prize? For waking her up. The end? That’s the story?

Stories like that just teach us to wait and hope that “some person” will “wake us up” and solve everything. It might. Or, it might just some one so excited to kiss you that they’ll even step over thorns to do it… and, you’ve never learned how to politely say, “thanks so much, that’s enough/no/let me think”… and, next thing you know, you’ve just gone from “asleep” to “over-compliant”. What’s that mean? Not even standing up for yourself, just stuck, following every/any rule, and controlled. So, let’s see what happens in this version…

(all images by ChatGPT… prompted by me :) - and the story was my idea but I got its help with the first round and then rewrote it many times)

The princess was born with fairy blessings of beauty, charm, intelligence, and grace.

But one fairy gave a curse: “If she gets pricked, she’ll fall into a nearly-forever sleep. Not until she is truly loved.” No one explained what that meant. But just to be safe, her parents banned all needles, pricking, and poking.

No spindles. No sharp objects for years and years... But curiosity got her. She wanted to design and sew. She loved to create. So she snuck away to a place that felt safe and opened the sewing kit she had bought for her birthday. It was amazing. She began sewing a dress right away. But, quite predictably, she pricked her finger with a needle.. And yep, she fell into an everlasting sleep. Right then and there. Until when? Until someone finally loved her. It was the curse.

Her parents were mortified. After all they had given her, after all these years of protecting her?

They gave up almost instantly… who could love her now?? She became a legend, a myth, hidden behind weeds and thorns.

No one visited. It was too messy, painful, and even smelly for a while. “She brought it on herself,” they all agreed.

One hundred years later, a brave man heard the legend: a forgotten woman with every desirable gift, lost in time. He was so handsome, charming, intelligent, and kind. His whole life, his wish was to marry a girl like her.

And finally, he’s found her. Among the overgrown flowers. He cut through the thorns and saw her. Even more gentle than he dreamed… untouched, and without hesitation, he kissed her right on her mouth.

She woke up. She blinked. She whispered to this guy, “Thank you...” But inside, she thought to herself: “Wow, that was a lot - FAST! Where am I? Who are you? What year is it?”

Instead, she felt a bit nervous and silent. And thirsty.

But he didn’t notice and he grabbed her by the arm, helped her out of the forest, and led her into town to show off his success. He was beaming as he paraded his impressive prize for all to see.

She couldn’t take one more step. Her emotions were too strong. Sleeping Beauty stopped, took him by the hands, looked him in the eyes, and said, “You’re amazing,” she said. “But I need some time to myself. I’ve just been sleeping for 100 years. I’d like to stop and think alone right here. Goodbye dear.”

She kissed him on the cheek... and walked away, toward her own story. She was finally safe in her own skin.

STORYBOOK: Safe Sleeping Beauty

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