Jean-Michel Rabeux

Misfortune strikes a kingdom: the queen is dying. She makes her husband swear that he remarry after her death, but on one condition, that he only marry a woman more beautiful than her. Seeing the picture of his daughter appear, whom he doesn't recognize at first, the king finds in her a woman more beautiful than the queen and he wishes to marry her, and continues to wish it even after she is recognized as his child. Advised by her fairy godmother, the little girl imposes impossible conditions in hopes of cancelling the wedding. But the king accomplishes the impossible. The girl then asks of him the skin of his donkey, the one that makes the kingdom's riches by defecating gold. Without hesitating the king fulfills the request of his daughter, who then flees him, dressed in the horrible garment to repel all desires.

It’s almost a habit. I take a story from Perrault that I love so, I put it in the blender of my dreams, and flies the stage to the lands of childhood, the ones I prefer, as well as to adulthood, also in me, to be honest. From "The Sleeping Beauty" there remains a lot, the wood, the spindle, the 100-year sleep, the fairies, good ones and evil ones, and obviously a prince who moves. But also the cauldron filled with snakes, and the very evil ogress. To be clear the title often makes us forget that the kiss that wakes from the magical sleep is but only the start of the tale. The worst, the very worst, is to come, since the Queen, mother of Prince Charming, is nothing less than an ogress who dreams only to devour everyone, but firstly her daughter-in-law and grandkids, which, evidently, is only seen in stories, she dreams only to take her son as husband to create little ogres. Long story short, a very nice momma. She'll end up in her cauldron, like in the story…