Flora, Fauna and Merryweather facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather
From left to right: Fauna, Flora, and Merryweather
First appearance	Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Voiced by	Flora: Verna Felton (Sleeping Beauty) Tress MacNeille (House of Mouse) Barbara Dirikson (other appearances) Susanne Blakeslee (Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom) Fauna: Barbara Jo Allen (Sleeping Beauty) Russi Taylor (other appearances) Merryweather: Barbara Luddy (Sleeping Beauty) Tress MacNeille (other appearances)
Information
Species	Fairy
Gender	Female
Occupation	Fairy godmothers
Children	Princess Aurora (goddaughter)

Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather are three important characters in Walt Disney's 1959 movie Sleeping Beauty. They are fairy godmothers to Princess Aurora.

These three fairies appear at baby Aurora's christening to give her special gifts. They also become her guardians and act like her parents. The fairies were voiced by Verna Felton (Flora), Barbara Jo Allen (Fauna), and Barbara Luddy (Merryweather).

Meet the Fairies: Their Powers and Personalities

Flora: The Leader in Red (or Pink!)

Flora is the tallest and oldest of the fairies. She wears a red dress, a red hat, and a red cape. Even though she wears red, she really loves the color pink!

Flora is the strongest and the leader of the group. Her special gift to Princess Aurora is the gift of beauty. She also has a powerful Sword of Truth and a strong Shield of Virtue that she can create when needed.

Fauna: The Kind Fairy in Green

Fauna is the middle fairy. She wears a green dress, a green hat, and a green cape. She is very kind and sensitive.

Fauna's gift to Aurora is the gift of song. She is sometimes a little bit forgetful, but always means well.

Merryweather: The Bold Fairy in Blue

Merryweather is the shortest and youngest fairy. She wears a blue dress, a blue hat, and a blue cape. She is the bravest and feistiest of the three fairies.

Merryweather was about to give her gift when the evil witch Maleficent appeared. Maleficent cursed Aurora to die on her sixteenth birthday. Merryweather quickly used her gift to change the curse. Instead of dying, Aurora would fall into a deep sleep. She could only wake up with true love's kiss.

Adventures of the Fairies

In Sleeping Beauty (1959 Film)

The three good fairies arrived at the christening of Princess Aurora. They each planned to give a gift to the baby princess. Flora gave the gift of beauty, and Fauna gave the gift of song.

Just as Merryweather was about to give her gift, the wicked Maleficent crashed the party. Maleficent was angry because she wasn't invited. She put a terrible curse on Aurora. Before her sixteenth birthday, Aurora would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. Merryweather quickly used her gift to soften the curse. Instead of dying, Aurora would fall into a deep sleep. She could only be woken by true love's kiss.

The fairies knew they had to protect Aurora. They decided to raise her themselves, disguised as peasant women. They believed Maleficent would never look for Aurora among common people. They were excited to take care of a baby! Flora took away their magic wands so they wouldn't accidentally use magic. They got permission from the King and Queen and took baby Aurora away.

Years later, on Aurora's sixteenth birthday, the fairies planned a surprise party. They sent Aurora (who they called Briar Rose) to pick berries in the forest. Flora decided to make a dress, and Fauna decided to bake a cake. Merryweather reminded them that they weren't very good at those things without magic.

They tried their best, but the dress and cake didn't turn out well. So, they decided to use their wands after all! They blocked all the windows so no one would see their magic lights. Flora and Merryweather then started a funny argument. Flora wanted Aurora's dress to be pink, and Merryweather wanted it to be blue. They kept changing the dress color back and forth with their magic!

The bright lights from their magic escaped through the chimney. Maleficent's crow saw the lights and found their cottage. The fairies quickly stopped arguing when they heard Aurora coming home. They surprised her, but then had to tell her she was a princess. They also told her she was already promised to Prince Phillip and couldn't see the man she met in the woods. Aurora was very sad.

Later, at the castle, the fairies tried to comfort Aurora. But Maleficent appeared and hypnotized Aurora. She led Aurora to a hidden room with a spinning wheel. The fairies tried to stop her, but it was too late. Aurora pricked her finger and fell into a deep sleep. The fairies were heartbroken.

To keep everyone from being sad, Flora put the whole kingdom to sleep. While everyone was falling asleep, Flora realized that Prince Phillip was the man Aurora loved! The fairies flew to find him, but Maleficent had already captured him.

The fairies snuck into Maleficent's fortress and freed Prince Phillip. Flora gave him the magical Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue. They fought their way out, with the fairies helping Phillip. Merryweather even turned Maleficent's crow into stone! The fairies helped Phillip fight Maleficent. They made his sword super powerful, and he threw it right into Maleficent, defeating her!

The fairies were there when Aurora woke up and met her parents. They also watched as she danced with Prince Phillip. Flora and Merryweather even started their pink-or-blue dress argument again!

In Maleficent (Live-Action Film)

The good fairies also appear in Disney's live-action movie Maleficent. In this movie, they are called Knotgrass, Flittle, and Thistlewit. They are a bit different from the animated fairies.

• Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton) wears red, like Flora. She is bossy and gives Aurora the gift of beauty.
• Flittle (Lesley Manville) wears blue, like Merryweather, but acts more like Fauna. She is a bit naive and gives Aurora the gift of happiness.
• Thistlewit (Juno Temple) wears green and yellow, like Fauna, but acts more like Merryweather. She is playful and childlike. Maleficent interrupted her before she could give her gift.

In this movie, the fairies are not very good at raising Aurora as a human. Maleficent secretly helps take care of Aurora instead.

Other Adventures

The three good fairies have appeared in other Disney stories too!

They were in Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams. In this story, they help Princess Aurora when she is left in charge of the kingdom. Merryweather even lends Aurora her magic wand, but warns her to be very careful!

The fairies also play a role in the Kingdom Hearts video games. In Kingdom Hearts II, they give the hero Sora a new outfit and a special Keyblade. They even argue about what color Sora's new outfit should be! In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, they help another hero, Ventus, fight Maleficent.

You might also see them at Disney theme parks and live shows. They sometimes host shows with other fairy tale characters, like the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella. Since 2013, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather have been regular characters in the Disney TV show Sofia the First.