Among the guests are three good fairies called Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, who have come to bless the child with gifts. The first fairy, Flora, gives the princess the gift of beauty, while the next fairy, Fauna, gives her the gift of song. Before Merryweather is able to give her blessing, a fairy named Maleficent appears. Though angry at having been uninvited, she is willing to let the slight pass; however, when Merryweather tells Maleficent that she was unwanted, the evil fairy curses the princess, proclaiming that while she will indeed be beautiful and graceful, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die before the sunset on her sixteenth birthday. Merryweather is able to use her blessing to weaken the curse, and she causes it so that instead of dying, Aurora will fall into a deep sleep from which she can only be awakened by true love's kiss.