The Sleeping Beauty (Modified)

We have all heard folk tales and witnessed their happy and wholesome endings. However, it is not necessary for conclusions to be happy. It can be modified. Today, I present an updated and modified conclusion to the popular tale of sleeping beauty. 

Sleeping Beauty is the story of a princess who was cursed that she would prick her finger at the age of 17 and die. After the witch, who gave this cruel curse left, a compassionate fairy modified it. Instead of pricking and killing the princess, she would go to deep sleep and would wake up only after her true love kissed her. This is where the modification starts-The witch got to know that her curse had been modified. She was enraged as she did not want to show any mercy to the poor princess. She started brainstorming ideas on how to make it impossible to save the princess. She eventually came up with a plan. She decided to make seven riddles, any person wanting to see the princess has to solve all the riddles. If they failed to do so, they would be trapped forever. The king and queen locked the princess to save her from the curse. Alas! She pricked her finger and went to deep sleep.

The entire palace went to sleep with her. The witch made sure everyone knew the consequences of saving the princess. Years passed, and the forest was now covered with lush greenery. No one dared to enter the palace. One fine day, A prince came to the town.

The mystery of the sleeping beauty caught his attention. He wanted to solve this mystery since he had a very venturesome nature. He paid no heed to the countless warnings to not enter the palace and decided to go anyway. He faced variegated setbacks, and also riddles, which were very tricky. However, he survived due to his shrewd thinking capability. he had been venturing near the palace for 14 days now. He was really apparent to see the sleeping beauty. He had to overcome the last hurdle, the last riddle. The riddle stated "A barrel of water has 60 litres of water. Something is added and it now weighs 40 litres. What was added?" The prince's mind went blank. He could not get the answer and hence was trapped in the tight vines. The sleeping beauty continued to be a mystery, which never unveiled itself.