The Story of the Duchess of Cicogne and of Monsieur de Boulingrin 1920

"The Story of the Duchess of Cicogne and of Monsieur de Boulingrin" by Anatole France is a fanciful story, likely crafted in the early 1900s, that plays with the familiar elements of fairy tales while layering in humor and social commentary. Part of a larger collection, it tells of Princess Aurore's century-long slumber brought on by a spiteful fairy, and the intertwined lives of the Duchess of Cicogne and Monsieur de Boulingrin, a government official who doubts the existence of fairies even as he experiences their magic. Their world turns upside down when they awaken after a hundred years to find themselves out of step with a changed society, forgotten by time, which leads to a comical observation of the peculiarities of relationships, the clash of fantasy with reality, and the often strange nature of life.