Four fairies appear in Disney’s 1959 Sleeping Beauty when Maleficent is included: Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, and Maleficent. The film presents three as good fairies and Maleficent as the evil fairy who curses Aurora.
Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather attend Aurora’s christening and give her magical gifts. Flora grants beauty, Fauna grants song, and Merryweather begins to offer happiness before Maleficent interrupts. After Maleficent declares that Aurora will die after pricking her finger on a spindle, Merryweather modifies the curse so Aurora will sleep instead.
Maleficent is counted as a fairy even though she is the antagonist. She identifies herself as an evil fairy and serves as the supernatural opposite of Aurora’s three guardians. That is why the answer is four rather than three.
The number can be confusing because the original Sleeping Beauty fairy tale has a different fairy arrangement. Charles Perrault’s version includes multiple good fairies and an offended fairy who casts the curse, while Disney’s film concentrates the story around three good fairies plus Maleficent. Disney’s early development material also reduced the planned group to four named fairies.