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Beauty and the Beast.
Once upon a time, in a very far-off country, therelived a merchant who had been so fortunate
in all his undertakings that he was enormouslyrich.
As he had, however, six sons and six daughters, hefound that his money was not too much to
let them all have everything they fancied, as theywere accustomed to do.
But one day a most unexpected misfortune befellthem.
Their house caught fire and was speedily burnt tothe ground, with all the splendid
furniture, the books, pictures, gold, silver, andprecious goods it contained, and this
was only the beginning of their troubles.
Their father, who had until this moment prosperedin all ways, suddenly lost every ship he had
upon the sea, either by dint of pirates, shipwreck, or fire.
Then he heard that his clerks in distantcountries, whom he trusted entirely, had provedunfaithful,
and at last from great wealth he fell into thedirest poverty.
All that he had left was a little house in a desolate place at least a hundred leagues
from the town in which he had lived, and to thishe was forced to retreat with his
children, who were in despair at the idea ofleading such a different life.
Indeed, the daughters at first hoped that theirfriends, who had been so numerous while
they were rich, would insist on their staying intheir houses now they no longer possessed
one.
But they soon found that they were left alone, andthat their former friends even attributed
their misfortunes to their own extravagance, andshowed no intention of offering them any
help.
So nothing was left for them but to take theirdeparture to the cottage, which stood in
the midst of a dark forest, and seemed to be themost dismal place upon the face of
the earth.
As they were too poor to have any servants, thegirls had to work hard, like peasants,
and the sons, for their part, cultivated thefields to earn their living.
Roughly clothed, and living in the simplest way,the girls regretted unceasingly the luxuries
and amusements of their former life, only theyoungest tried to be brave and cheerful.
She had been as sad as anyone when misfortuneovertook her father, but, soon recovering her
natural gaiety, she set to work to make the bestof things, to amuse her father and
brothers as well as she could, and to try topersuade her sisters to join her in dancing
and singing.
But they would do nothing of the sort, and,because she was not as doleful as themselves,
they declared that this miserable life was all shewas fit for.
But she was really far prettier and cleverer thanthey were, indeed, she was so lovely
that she was always called beauty.
After two years, when they were all beginning toget used to their new life, something happened
to disturb their tranquility.
Their father received the news that one of hisships, which he had believed to be lost,
had come safely into port with a rich cargo.
All the sons and daughters at once thought thattheir poverty was at an end, and wanted
to set out directly for the town.
But their father, who was more prudent, beggedthem to wait a little, and, though it was
harvest time, and he could ill be spared,determined to go himself first, to make inquiries.
Only the youngest daughter had any doubt but thatthey would soon again be as rich
as they were before, or at least rich enough tolive comfortably in some town where they
would find amusement and gay companions once more.
So they all loaded their father with commissionsfor jewels and dresses which it would have
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taken a fortune to buy, only beauty, feeling surethat it was of no use, did not ask for
anything.
Her father, noticing her silence, said, and whatshall I bring for you, beauty?
The only thing I wish for is to see you come homesafely, she answered.
But this only vexed her sisters, who fancied shewas blaming them for having asked for
such costly things.
Her father, however, was pleased, that as hethought that at her age she certainly
ought to like pretty presents, he told her tochoose something.
Well, dear father, she said, as you insist uponit, I beg that you will bring me a rose.
I have not seen one since we came here, and I lovethem so much.
So the merchant set out and reached the town asquickly as possible, but only to find that
his former companions, believing him to be dead,had divided between them the goods which
the ship had brought, and after six months oftrouble and expense he found himself as
poor as when he started, having been able torecover only just enough to pay the cost
of his journey.
To make matters worse, he was obliged to leave thetown in the most terrible weather,
so that by the time he was within a few leagues ofhis home he was almost exhausted with cold
and fatigue.
Though he knew it would take some hours to getthrough the forest, he was so anxious
to be at his journey's end that he resolved to goon, but night overtook him, and the
deep snow and bitter frost made it impossible forhis horse to carry him any further.
Not a house was to be seen, the only shelter hecould get was the hollow trunk of a great
tree, and there he crouched all the night whichseemed to him the longest he had ever
known.
In spite of his weariness the howling of thewolves kept him awake, and even when
at last the day broke he was not much better off,for the falling snow had covered up every
path, and he did not know which way to turn.
At length he made out some sort of track, andthough at the beginning it was so rough
and slippery that he fell down more than once, itpresently became easier, and led
him into an avenue of trees which ended in asplendid castle.
It seemed to the merchant very strange that nosnow had fallen in the avenue, which was
entirely composed of orange trees, covered withflowers and fruit.
When he reached the first court of the castle hesaw before him a flight of agate steps,
and went up them, and passed through severalsplendidly furnished rooms.
The pleasant warmth of the air revived him, and hefelt very hungry, but there seemed
to be nobody in all this vast and splendid palacewhom he could ask to give him something
to eat.
Deep silence reigned everywhere, and at last,tired of roaming through empty rooms andgalleries,
he stopped in a room smaller than the rest, wherea clear fire was burning and a couch
was drawn up closely to it.
Thinking that this must be prepared for someonewho was expected, he sat down to wait till
he should come, and very soon fell into a sweetsleep.
When his extreme hunger wakened him after severalhours, he was still alone, but a little table,
upon which was a good dinner, had been drawn upclose to him, and, as he had eaten nothing
for twenty-four hours, he lost no time inbeginning his meal, hoping that he might soon
have an opportunity of thanking his considerateentertainer, whoever it might be.
But no one appeared, and even after another longsleep, from which he awoke completely
refreshed, there was no sign of anybody, though afresh meal of dainty cakes and fruit was
prepared upon the little table at his elbow.
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Being naturally timid, the silence began to terrify him, and he resolved to search once
more through all the rooms, but it was of no use.
Not even a servant was to be seen, there was nosign of life in the palace.
He began to wonder what he should do, and to amusehimself by pretending that all the
treasures he saw were his own, and considering howhe would divide them among his children.
Then he went down into the garden, and though itwas winter everywhere else, here the sun
shone, and the birds sang, and the flowers bloomed, and the air was soft and sweet.
The merchant, in ecstasies with all he saw andheard, said to himself.
All this must be meant for me.
I will go this minute and bring my children toshare all these delights.
In spite of being so cold and weary when hereached the castle, he had taken his horse
to the stable and fed it.
Now he thought he would saddle it for his homewardjourney, and he turned down the path
which led to the stable.
This path had a hedge of roses on each side of it,and the merchant thought he had never
seen or smelt such exquisite flowers.
They reminded him of his promise to beauty, and hestopped and had just gathered one to
take to her when he was startled by a strangenoise behind him.
Turning round, he saw a frightful beast, whichseemed to be very angry and said, in a terrible
voice.
Who told you that you might gather my roses?
Was it not enough that I allowed you to be in mypalace and was kind to you?
This is the way you show your gratitude, bystealing my flowers.
But your insolence shall not go unpunished.
The merchant, terrified by these furious words,dropped the fatal rose, and, throwing himself
on his knees, cried, Pardon me, noble sir.
I am truly grateful to you for your hospitality,which was so magnificent that I could not
imagine that you would be offended by my takingsuch a little thing as a rose.
But the beast's anger was not lessened by thisspeech.
You are very ready with excuses and flattery, hecried, but that will not save you from the
death you deserve.
Alas! thought the merchant, if my daughter couldonly know what danger her rose has brought
me into.
And in despair he began to tell the beast all hismisfortunes, and the reason of his
journey, not forgetting to mention beauty'srequest.
A king's ransom would hardly have procured allthat my other daughters asked.
He said, But I thought that I might at least takebeauty her rose.
I beg you to forgive me, for you see I meant noharm.
The beast considered for a moment, and then hesaid, in a less furious tone.
I will forgive you on one condition, that is, thatyou will give me one of your daughters.
Ah, cried the merchant, if I were cruel enough tobuy my own life at the expense of
one of my children's, what excuse could I inventto bring her here?
No excuse would be necessary, answered the beast.
If she comes at all she must come willingly.
On no other condition will I have her.
See if any one of them is courageous enough, andloves you well enough to come and save
your life.
You seem to be an honest man, so I will trust youto go home.
I give you a month to see if either of yourdaughters will come back with you and stay
here, to let you go free.
If neither of them is willing, you must comealone, after bidding them good-bye forever,
for then you will belong to me.
And do not imagine that you can hide from me, forif you fail to keep your word I will
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come and fetch you.
Added the beast grimly.
The merchant accepted this proposal, though he didnot really think any of his daughters
could be persuaded to come.
He promised to return at the time appointed, andthen, anxious to escape from the presence
of the beast, he asked permission to set off atonce.
But the beast answered that he could not go untilnext day.
Then you will find a horse ready for you, he said.
Now go and eat your supper, and await my orders.
The poor merchant, more dead than alive, went backto his room, where the most delicious
supper was already served on the little tablewhich was drawn up before a blazing fire.
But he was too terrified to eat, and only tasted afew of the dishes, for fear the
beast should be angry if he did not obey hisorders.
When he had finished he heard a great noise in thenext room, which he knew meant that
the beast was coming.
As he could do nothing to escape his visit, theonly thing that remained was to seem
as little afraid as possible.
So when the beast appeared and asked roughly if hehad supped well, the merchant answered
humbly that he had, thanks to his host's kindness.
Then the beast warned him to remember theiragreement, and to prepare his daughter exactly
for what she had to expect.
Do not get up tomorrow, he added, until you seethe sun and hear a golden bell ring.
Then you will find your breakfast waiting for youhere, and the horse you are to ride
will be ready in the courtyard.
He will also bring you back again when you comewith your daughter a month hence.
Farewell.
Take a rose to Beauty, and remember your promise.
The merchant was only too glad when the beast wentaway, and though he could not sleep for
sadness, he lay down until the sun rose.
Then, after a hasty breakfast, he went to gatherBeauty's rose, and mounted his horse,
which carried him off so swiftly that in aninstant he had lost sight of the palace,
and he was still wrapped in gloomy thoughts whenit stopped before the door of the cottage.
His sons and daughters, who had been very uneasyat his long absence, rushed to meet
him, eager to know the result of his journey,which, seeing him mounted upon a splendid
horse and wrapped in a rich mantle, they supposedto be favourable.
He hid the truth from them at first, only sayingsadly to Beauty as he gave her the
rose.
Here is what you asked me to bring you, you littleknow what it has cost.
But this excited their curiosity so greatly thatpresently he told them his adventures
from beginning to end, and then they were all veryunhappy.
The girls lamented loudly over their lost hopes,and the sons declared that their father
should not return to this terrible castle, andbegan to make plans for killing the beast
if it should come to fetch him.
But he reminded them that he had promised to goback.
Then the girls were very angry with Beauty, andsaid it was all her fault, and that if
she had asked for something sensible this wouldnever happened, and complained bitterly
that they should have to suffer for her folly.
Poor Beauty, much distressed, said to them.
I have, indeed, caused this misfortune, but Iassure you I did it innocently.
Who could have guessed that to ask for a rose inthe middle of summer would cause so
much misery?
But as I did the mischief it is only just that Ishould suffer for it.
I will therefore go back with my father to keephis promise.
At first nobody would hear of this arrangement,and her father and brothers, who loved her
dearly, declared that nothing should make them lether go, but Beauty was firm.
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As the time drew near she divided all her littlepossessions between her sisters, and
said good-bye to everything she loved, and whenthe fatal day came she encouraged and
cheered her father as they mounted together thehorse which had brought him back.
It seemed to fly rather than gallop, but sosmoothly that Beauty was not frightened,
indeed, she would have enjoyed the journey if shehad not feared what might happen to
her at the end of it.
Her father still tried to persuade her to go back,but in vain.
While they were talking the night fell, and then,to their great surprise, wonderful coloured
lights began to shine in all directions, andsplendid fireworks blazed out before them.
All the forest was illuminated by them, and evenfelt pleasantly warm, though it had
been bitterly cold before.
This lasted until they reached the avenue oforange trees, where were statues holding
flaming torches, and when they got nearer to thepalace they saw that it was illuminated
from the roof to the ground, and music soundedsoftly from the courtyard.
The beast must be very hungry, said Beauty, tryingto laugh, if he makes all this rejoicing
over the arrival of his prey.
But, in spite of her anxiety, she could not helpadmiring all the wonderful things she
saw.
The horse stopped at the foot of the flight ofsteps leading to the terrace, and when
they had dismounted her father led her to thelittle room he had been in before, where
they found a splendid fire burning, and the tabledaintily spread with a delicious supper.
The merchant knew that this was meant for them,and Beauty, who was rather less frightened
now that she had passed through so many rooms andseen nothing of the beast, was quite willing
to begin, for her long ride had made her veryhungry.
But they had hardly finished their meal when thenoise of the beast's footsteps was heard
approaching, and Beauty clung to her father interror, which became all the greater when
she saw how frightened he was.
But when the beast really appeared, though shetrembled at the sight of him, she made
a great effort to hide her terror, and saluted himrespectfully.
This evidently pleased the beast.
After looking at her he said, in a tone that mighthave struck terror into the boldest
heart, though he did not seem to be angry.
''Good evening, old man.
Good evening, Beauty.''
The merchant was too terrified to reply, butBeauty answered sweetly, ''Good evening,
beast.
Have you come willingly?''
Asked the beast.
''Will you be content to stay here when yourfather goes away?''
Beauty answered bravely that she was quiteprepared to stay.
''I am pleased with you,'' said the beast.
''As you have come of your own accord, you maystay.
As for you, old man,'' he added, turning to themerchant, ''at sunrise tomorrow you will
take your departure.
When the bell rings get up quickly and eat yourbreakfast, and you will find the same
horse waiting to take you home, but remember thatyou must never expect to see my palace
again.''
