Sun, Moon, and Talia

"Sun, Moon, and Talia,"

A Version of Sleeping Beauty, 

France, AD 1634,

Adapted from the story written by Giambattista Basile in The Pentameron.

There once lived a great lord who was blessed with the birth of a daughter. He named his daughter Talia and sent for wise men to predict her future. The wise men decided that she would suffer from a splinter of flax, and it would kill her. Her father decided then that no flax, hemp, or any other material would be brought into his house so he could save Talia from the future that was predicted. Talia grew into a young and beautiful lady. One day she was looking out of her window when she saw an old woman who was coming down the road spinning. Talia had never seen a spindle and was curious what it was the woman was doing and how it worked. She asked the woman to come to her and teach her how to use the spindle. She began to stretch the flax, but while doing so a splinter of flax went under her fingernail and she fell to the ground dead. The old woman was frightened at seeing this happen and ran down the stairs and is still running. It would be years before the splinter of flax was removed from Talia’s hand. Eventually, she had two children which she named Sun and Moon.