King Florestan XXIV and his Queen have invited all the fairies to the christening of their daughter, Princess Aurora. The celebration is interrupted by the arrival of Carabosse, the Wicked Fairy. In her anger at not being invited she gives Aurora a spindle, saying that one day the Princess will prick her finger on it and die. The Lilac Fairy promises that Aurora will not die but fall into a deep sleep, from which she will be woken by a prince’s kiss.

It is Princess Aurora’s 16th birthday and four princes come to vie for her hand in marriage. An old woman gives Aurora a spindle. She pricks her finger and falls asleep. The Lilac Fairy casts a spell of sleep over everyone and causes a thick forest to grow over the palace.

A hundred years later, Prince Florimund is hunting in the forest with members of his court. The Lilac Fairy appears and shows him a vision of Princess Aurora. Florimund implores her to take him to where she sleeps. At last Prince Florimund awakens Princess Aurora with a kiss – the spell is broken and Carabosse is finally vanquished.