“What a good thing, for instance, it was that one princess should sleep for a hundred years! Was she not saved from all the plague of young men who were not worthy of her? And did she not come awake exactly at the right moment when the right prince kissed her? For my part, I cannot help wishing a good many girls would sleep till just the same fate overtook them. It would be happier for them, and more agreeable to their friends.”
Little Daylight appears as chapter 28 of George MacDonald’s wonderful novel, At the Back of the North Wind. It is a hidden gem of a fairy tale, a story within a story which should not be overlooked. As the author notes, it’s inspired by “Sleeping Beauty.”
Wikipedia Synopsis
“A king and queen gain a daughter, whom they name Daylight. They invite all the fairies who live in the woods by their palace, except one, newly arrived, who lives in the swamp and has everyone convinced she is a witch.
The fairy arrives anyway, and demands the baby's name. On hearing it is "Little Daylight" she says it shall be little daylight, as the princess would sleep all day. Another fairy gives her the gift of waking all night, but the swamp fairy insists that she was not done with the curse, and that Daylight shall wax and wane with the moon. A second fairy says that the curse shall be broken when a prince kisses her without knowing it, and the swamp fairy can not pretend again that she was not done. As the princess grows up, she is beautiful and full of high spirits at the full moon, and as it wanes, turns wan and withered, as if sickly. The older she grows the more extreme the contrast becomes.
A nearby prince has to flee a revolt in his country and comes to the woods. He meets a fairy who is very cryptic with him, and then comes across Daylight dancing in the woods by moonlight. He sees her three nights in a row, as the moon is waxing to full, and falls in love. The third night, they have a conversation in which the princess tells him she has never seen the sun. He meets the fairy again and talks with her, but the fairy can not tell him the full curse.
The swamp fairy discovers his presence and prevents him from finding her again until the moon is more than half gone; then, she thinks the withered princess will not attract him, so she relaxes her guard. The prince finds Daylight again when the moon is new, and she is so withered and feeble that he spends the night trying to minister to her, and when carrying her to help, kisses her. Dawn arrives, Daylight is restored to her full beauty, and she asks the prince whether the sun is coming.”
Reading this timeless story to young children, especially girls, builds dignity into their souls, helping them to understand their innate worth as children of God. In a culture consumed with sex and the exploitation of women’s bodies, this story reinforces to girls how special they are in the sight of God. Young girls should be taught they’re to be respected and honored by young boys and men as co-heirs of the kingdom of God and equal in God’s eyes—made in His image—and young men need to learn how to treat them as such. MacDonald advocates for the female in this story, and he shows a lot of great wisdom and insight. This story is just gold!
Little Daylight online for free
MacDonald collector extraordinaire Dan MacDonald tells me this was his daughter’s favorite story when she was young! He recommends this edition, adapted and illustrated by Erick Ingraham.
From the Illustrator's website he gives a synopsis and reviews of his book and mentions, “Little Daylight was chosen by American Bookseller as one of their "Pick of the Lists" for Fall 1988.”
