The Sleeping Beauty retold by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. Sleeping Beauty, or Little Briar Rose, also titled in English as The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods, is a classic fairy tale which involves a beautiful princess, a sleeping enchantment, and a handsome prince. The tale was originally written by Charles Perrault. The version collected by the Brothers Grimm was an orally transmitted version of the original literary tale published by Perrault in Histoires ou contes du temps passé in 1697. This in turn was based on Sun, Moon, and Talia by Italian poet Giambattista Basile (published posthumously in 1634), which was in turn based on one or more folk tales. The earliest known version of the story is found in the narrative Perceforest, composed between 1330 and 1344.