{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_19967/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_19967","id":"gutenberg_19967","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19967","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales"],"text":"Beauty and the Beast\n\n\nby Anonymous\n\n\n\n\nEdition 1, (November 30, 2006)\n\n\n\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBEAUTY AND THE BEAST.\n\n\nOnce upon a time, in a very far-off country, there lived a merchant who\nhad been so fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously rich.\nAs he had, however, six sons and six daughters, he found that his money\nwas not too much to let them all have everything they fancied, as they\nwere accustomed to do.\n\nBut one day a most unexpected misfortune befell them. Their house caught\nfire and was speedily burnt to the ground, with all the splendid\nfurniture, the books, pictures, gold, silver, and precious goods it\ncontained; and this was only the beginning of their troubles. Their\nfather, who had until this moment prospered in all ways, suddenly lost\nevery ship he had upon the sea, either by dint of pirates, shipwreck, or\nfire. Then he heard that his clerks in distant countries, whom he trusted\nentirely, had proved unfaithful; and at last from great wealth he fell\ninto the direst poverty.\n\nAll that he had left was a little house in a desolate place at least a\nhundred leagues from the town in which he had lived, and to this he was\nforced to retreat with his children, who were in despair at the idea of\nleading such a different life. Indeed, the daughters at first hoped that\ntheir friends, who had been so numerous while they were rich, would insist\non their staying in their houses now they no longer possessed one. But\nthey soon found that they were left alone, and that their former friends\neven attributed their misfortunes to their own extravagance, and showed no\nintention of offering them any help. So nothing was left for them but to\ntake their departure to the cottage, which stood in the midst of a dark\nforest, and seemed to be the most dismal place upon the face of the earth.\nAs they were too poor to have any servants, the girls had to work hard,\nlike peasants, and the sons, for their part, cultivated the fields to earn\ntheir living. Roughly clothed, and living in the simplest way, the girls\nregretted unceasingly the luxuries and amusements of their former life;\nonly the youngest tried to be brave and cheerful. She had been as sad as\nanyone when misfortune first overtook her father, but, soon recovering her\nnatural gaiety, she set to work to make the best of things, to amuse her\nfather and brothers as well as she could, and to try to persuade her\nsisters to join her in dancing and singing. But they would do nothing of\nthe sort, and, because she was not as doleful as themselves, they declared\nthat this miserable life was all she was fit for. But she was really far\nprettier and cleverer than they were; indeed, she was so lovely that she\nwas always called Beauty. After two years, when they were all beginning to\nget used to their new life, something happened to disturb their\ntranquillity. Their father received the news that one of his ships, which\nhe had believed to be lost, had come safely into port with a rich cargo.\nAll the sons and daughters at once thought that their poverty was at an\nend, and wanted to set out directly for the town; but their father, who\nwas more prudent, begged them to wait a little, and, though it was\nharvest-time, and he could ill be spared, determined to go himself first,\nto make inquiries. Only the youngest daughter had any doubt but that they\nwould soon again be as rich as they were before, or at least rich enough\nto live comfortably in some town where they would find amusement and gay\ncompanions once more. So they all loaded their father with commissions for\njewels and dresses which it would have taken a fortune to buy; only\nBeauty, feeling sure that it was of no use, did not ask for anything. Her\nfather, noticing her silence, said: \"And what shall I bring for you,\nBeauty?\"\n\n\"The only thing I wish for is to see you come home safely,\" she answered.\n\nBut this reply vexed her sisters, who fancied she was blaming them for\nhaving asked for such costly things. Her father, however, was pleased, but\nas he thought that at her age she certainly ought to like pretty presents,\nhe told her to choose something.\n\n\"Well, dear father,\" she said, \"as you insist upon it, I beg that you will\nbring me a rose. I have not seen one since we came here, and I love them\nso much.\"\n\nSo the merchant set out and reached the town as quickly as possible, but\nonly to find that his former companions, believing him to be dead, had\ndivided between them the goods which the ship had brought; and after six\nmonths of trouble and expense he found himself as poor as when he started,\nhaving been able to recover only just enough to pay the cost of his\njourney. To make matters worse, he was obliged to leave the town in the\nmost terrible weather, so that by the time he was within a few leagues of\nhis home he was almost exhausted with cold and fatigue. Though he knew it\nwould take some hours to get through the forest, he was so anxious to be\nat his journey's end that he resolved to go on; but night overtook him,\nand the deep snow and bitter frost made it impossible for his horse to\ncarry him any further. Not a house was to be seen; the only shelter he\ncould get was the hollow trunk of a great tree, and there he crouched all\nthe night, which seemed to him the longest he had ever known. In spite of\nhis weariness the howling of the wolves kept him awake, and even when at\nlast the day broke he was not much better off, for the falling snow had\ncovered up every path, and he did not know which way to turn.\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\nAt length he made out some sort of track, and though at the beginning it\nwas so rough and slippery that he fell down more than once, it presently\nbecame easier, and led him into an avenue of trees which ended in a\nsplendid castle. It seemed to the merchant very strange that no snow had\nfallen in the avenue, which was entirely composed of orange trees, covered\nwith flowers and fruit. When he reached the first court of the castle he\nsaw before him a flight of agate steps, and went up them, and passed\nthrough several splendidly furnished rooms. The pleasant warmth of the air\nrevived him, and he felt very hungry; but there seemed to be nobody in all\nthis vast and splendid palace whom he could ask to give him something to\neat. Deep silence reigned everywhere, and at last, tired of roaming\nthrough empty rooms and galleries, he stopped in a room smaller than the\nrest, where a clear fire was burning and a couch was drawn up cosily close\nto it. Thinking that this must be prepared for someone who was expected,\nhe sat down to wait till he should come, and very soon fell into a sweet\nsleep.\n\nWhen his extreme hunger wakened him after several hours, he was still\nalone; but a little table, upon which was a good dinner, had been drawn up\nclose to him, and, as he had eaten nothing for twenty-four hours, he lost\nno time in beginning his meal, hoping that he might soon have an\nopportunity of thanking his considerate entertainer, whoever it might be.\n\nBut no one appeared, and even after another long sleep, from which he\nawoke completely refreshed, there was no sign of anybody, though a fresh\nmeal of dainty cakes and fruit was prepared upon the little table at his\nelbow. Being naturally timid, the silence began to terrify him, and he\nresolved to search once more through all the rooms; but it was of no use.\nNot even a servant was to be seen; there was no sign of life in the\npalace! He began to wonder what he should do, and to amuse himself by\npretending that all the treasures he saw were his own, and considering how\nhe would divide them among his children. Then he went down into the\ngarden, and though it was winter everywhere else, here the sun shone, and\nthe birds sang, and the flowers bloomed, and the air was soft and sweet.\nThe merchant, in ecstacies with all he saw and heard, said to himself:\n\n\"All this must be meant for me. I will go this minute and bring my\nchildren to share all these delights.\"\n\nIn spite of being so cold and weary when he reached the castle, he had\ntaken his horse to the stable and fed it. Now he thought he would saddle\nit for his homeward journey, and he turned down the path which led to the\nstable. This path had a hedge of roses on each side of it, and the\nmerchant thought he had never seen or smelt such exquisite flowers. They\nreminded him of his promise to Beauty, and he stopped and had just\ngathered one to take to her when he was startled by a strange noise behind\nhim. Turning round, he saw a frightful Beast, which seemed to be very\nangry and said, in a terrible voice:\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n\"Who told you that you might gather my roses? Was it not enough that I\nallowed you to be in my palace and was kind to you? This is the way you\nshow your gratitude, by stealing my flowers! But your insolence shall not\ngo unpunished.\" The merchant, terrified by these furious words, dropped\nthe fatal rose, and, throwing himself on his knees, cried: \"Pardon me,\nnoble sir. I am truly grateful to you for your hospitality, which was so\nmagnificent that I could not imagine that you would be offended by my\ntaking such a little thing as a rose.\" But the Beast's anger was not\nlessened by this speech.\n\n\"You are very ready with excuses and flattery,\" he cried; \"but that will\nnot save you from the death you deserve.\"\n\n\"Alas!\" thought the merchant, \"if my daughter Beauty could only know what\ndanger her rose has brought me into!\"\n\nAnd in despair he began to tell the Beast all his misfortunes, and the\nreason of his journey, not forgetting to mention Beauty's request.\n\n\"A king's ransom would hardly have procured all that my other daughters\nasked,\" he said; \"but I thought that I might at least take Beauty her\nrose. I beg you to forgive me, for you see I meant no harm.\"\n\nThe Beast considered for a moment, and then he said, in a less furious\ntone:\n\n\"I will forgive you on one condition--that is, that you will give me one\nof your daughters.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" cried the merchant, \"if I were cruel enough to buy my own life at\nthe expense of one of my children's, what excuse could I invent to bring\nher here?\"\n\n\"No excuse would be necessary,\" answered the Beast. \"If she comes at all\nshe must come willingly. On no other condition will I have her. See if any\none of them is courageous enough, and loves you well enough to come and\nsave your life. You seem to be an honest man, so I will trust you to go\nhome. I give you a month to see if either of your daughters will come back\nwith you and stay here, to let you go free. If neither of them is willing,\nyou must come alone, after bidding them good-bye for ever, for then you\nwill belong to me. And do not imagine that you can hide from me, for if\nyou fail to keep your word I will come and fetch you!\" added the Beast\ngrimly.\n\nThe merchant accepted this proposal, though he did not really think any of\nhis daughters would be persuaded to come. He promised to return at the\ntime appointed, and then, anxious to escape from the presence of the\nBeast, he asked permission to set off at once. But the Beast answered that\nhe could not go until the next day.\n\n\"Then you will find a horse ready for you,\" he said. \"Now go and eat your\nsupper, and await my orders.\"\n\nThe poor merchant, more dead than alive, went back to his room, where the\nmost delicious supper was already served on the little table which was\ndrawn up before a blazing fire. But he was too terrified to eat, and only\ntasted a few of the dishes, for fear the Beast should be angry if he did\nnot obey his orders. When he had finished he heard a great noise in the\nnext room, which he knew meant that the Beast was coming. As he could do\nnothing to escape his visit, the only thing that remained was to seem as\nlittle afraid as possible; so when the Beast appeared and asked roughly if\nhe had supped well, the merchant answered humbly that he had, thanks to\nhis host's kindness. Then the Beast warned him to remember their\nagreement, and to prepare his daughter exactly for what she had to expect.\n\n\"Do not get up to-morrow,\" he added, \"until you see the sun and hear a\ngolden bell ring. Then you will find your breakfast waiting for you here,\nand the horse you are to ride will be ready in the courtyard. He will also\nbring you back again when you come with your daughter a month hence.\nFarewell. Take a rose to Beauty, and remember your promise!\"\n\nThe merchant was only too glad when the Beast went away, and though he\ncould not sleep for sadness, he lay down until the sun rose. Then, after a\nhasty breakfast, he went to gather Beauty's rose, and mounted his horse,\nwhich carried him off so swiftly that in an instant he had lost sight of\nthe palace, and he was still wrapped in gloomy thoughts when it stopped\nbefore the door of the cottage.\n\nHis sons and daughters, who had been very uneasy at his long absence,\nrushed to meet him, eager to know the result of his journey, which, seeing\nhim mounted upon a splendid horse and wrapped in a rich mantle, they\nsupposed to be favorable. But he hid the truth from them at first, only\nsaying sadly to Beauty as he gave her the rose:\n\n\"Here is what you asked me to bring you; you little know what it has\ncost.\"\n\nBut this excited their curiosity so greatly that presently he told them\nhis adventures from beginning to end, and then they were all very unhappy.\nThe girls lamented loudly over their lost hopes, and the sons declared\nthat their father should not return to this terrible castle, and began to\nmake plans for killing the Beast if it should come to fetch him. But he\nreminded them that he had promised to go back. Then the girls were very\nangry with Beauty, and said it was all her fault, and that if she had\nasked for something sensible this would never have happened, and\ncomplained bitterly that they should have to suffer for her folly.\n\nPoor Beauty, much distressed, said to them:\n\n\"I have indeed caused this misfortune, but I assure you I did it\ninnocently. Who could have guessed that to ask for a rose in the middle of\nsummer would cause so much misery? But as I did the mischief it is only\njust that I should suffer for it. I will therefore go back with my father\nto keep his promise.\"\n\nAt first nobody would hear of this arrangement, and her father and\nbrothers, who loved her dearly, declared that nothing should make them let\nher go; but Beauty was firm. As the time drew near she divided all her\nlittle possessions between her sisters, and said good-bye to everything\nshe loved, and when the fatal day came she encouraged and cheered her\nfather as they mounted together the horse which had brought him back. It\nseemed to fly rather than gallop, but so smoothly that Beauty was not\nfrightened; indeed, she would have enjoyed the journey if she had not\nfeared what might happen to her at the end of it. Her father still tried\nto persuade her to go back, but in vain. While they were talking the night\nfell, and then, to their great surprise, wonderful colored lights began to\nshine in all directions, and splendid fireworks blazed out before them;\nall the forest was illuminated by them, and even felt pleasantly warm,\nthough it had been bitterly cold before. This lasted until they reached\nthe avenue of orange trees, where were statues holding flaming torches,\nand when they got nearer to the palace they saw that it was illuminated\nfrom the roof to the ground, and music sounded softly from the courtyard.\n\n\"The Beast must be very hungry,\" said Beauty, trying to laugh, \"if he\nmakes all this rejoicing over the arrival of his prey.\"\n\nBut, in spite of her anxiety, she could not help admiring all the\nwonderful things she saw.\n\nThe horse stopped at the foot of the flight of steps leading to the\nterrace, and when they had dismounted her father led her to the little\nroom he had been in before, where they found a splendid fire burning, and\nthe table daintily spread with a delicious supper.\n\nThe merchant knew that this was meant for them, and Beauty, who was rather\nless frightened now that she had passed through so many rooms and seen\nnothing of the Beast, was quite willing to begin, for her long ride had\nmade her very hungry. But they had hardly finished their meal when the\nnoise of the Beast's footsteps was heard approaching, and Beauty clung to\nher father in terror, which became all the greater when she saw how\nfrightened he was. But when the Beast really appeared, though she trembled\nat the sight of him, she made a great effort to hide her horror, and\nsaluted him respectfully.\n\nThis evidently pleased the Beast. After looking at her he said, in a tone\nthat might have struck terror into the boldest heart, though he did not\nseem to be angry:\n\n\"Good-evening, old man. Good-evening, Beauty.\"\n\nThe merchant was too terrified to reply, but Beauty answered sweetly:\n\n\"Good-evening, Beast.\"\n\n\"Have you come willingly?\" asked the Beast. \"Will you be content to stay\nhere when your father goes away?\"\n\nBeauty answered bravely that she was quite prepared to stay.\n\n\"I am pleased with you,\" said the Beast. \"As you have come of your own\naccord, you may stay. As for you, old man,\" he added, turning to the\nmerchant, \"at sunrise to-morrow you will take your departure. When the\nbell rings get up quickly and eat your breakfast, and you will find the\nsame horse waiting to take you home; but remember that you must never\nexpect to see my palace again.\"\n\nThen turning to Beauty, he said:\n\n\"Take your father into the next room, and help him to choose everything\nyou think your brothers and sisters would like to have. You will find two\ntraveling-trunks there; fill them as full as you can. It is only just that\nyou should send them something very precious as a remembrance of\nyourself.\"\n\nThen he went away, after saying, \"Good-bye, Beauty; good-bye, old man;\"\nand though Beauty was beginning to think with great dismay of her father's\ndeparture, she was afraid to disobey the Beast's orders; and they went\ninto the next room, which had shelves and cupboards all round it. They\nwere greatly surprised at the riches it contained. There were splendid\ndresses fit for a queen, with all the ornaments that were to be worn with\nthem; and when Beauty opened the cupboards she was quite dazzled by the\ngorgeous jewels that lay in heaps upon every shelf. After choosing a vast\nquantity, which she divided between her sisters--for she had made a heap\nof the wonderful dresses for each of them---she opened the last chest,\nwhich was full of gold.\n\n\"I think, father,\" she said, \"that, as the gold will be more useful to\nyou, we had better take out the other things again, and fill the trunks\nwith it.\" So they did this; but the more they put in, the more room there\nseemed to be, and at last they put back all the jewels and dresses they\nhad taken out, and Beauty even added as many more of the jewels as she\ncould carry at once; and then the trunks were not too full, but they were\nso heavy that an elephant could not have carried them!\n\n\"The Beast was mocking us,\" cried the merchant; \"he must have pretended to\ngive us all these things, knowing that I could not carry them away.\"\n\n\"Let us wait and see,\" answered Beauty. \"I cannot believe that he meant to\ndeceive us. All we can do is to fasten them up and leave them ready.\"\n\nSo they did this and returned to the little room, where, to their\nastonishment, they found breakfast ready. The merchant ate his with a good\nappetite, as the Beast's generosity made him believe that he might perhaps\nventure to come back soon and see Beauty. But she felt sure that her\nfather was leaving her for ever, so she was very sad when the bell rang\nsharply for the second time, and warned them that the time was come for\nthem to part. They went down into the courtyard, where two horses were\nwaiting, one loaded with the two trunks, the other for him to ride. They\nwere pawing the ground in their impatience to start, and the merchant was\nforced to bid Beauty a hasty farewell; and as soon as he was mounted he\nwent off at such a pace that she lost sight of him in an instant. Then\nBeauty began to cry, and wandered sadly back to her own room. But she soon\nfound that she was very sleepy, and as she had nothing better to do she\nlay down and instantly fell asleep. And then she dreamed that she was\nwalking by a brook bordered with trees, and lamenting her sad fate, when a\nyoung prince, handsomer than anyone she had ever seen, and with a voice\nthat went straight to her heart, came and said to her, \"Ah, Beauty! you\nare not so unfortunate as you suppose. Here you will be rewarded for all\nyou have suffered elsewhere. Your every wish shall be gratified. Only try\nto find me out, no matter how I may be disguised, as I love you dearly,\nand in making me happy you will find your own happiness. Be as\ntrue-hearted as you are beautiful, and we shall have nothing left to wish\nfor.\"\n\n\"What can I do, Prince, to make you happy?\" said Beauty.\n\n\"Only be grateful,\" he answered, \"and do not trust too much to your eyes.\nAnd, above all, do not desert me until you have saved me from my cruel\nmisery.\"\n\nAfter this she thought she found herself in a room with a stately and\nbeautiful lady, who said to her:\n\n\"Dear Beauty, try not to regret all you have left behind you, for you are\ndestined to a better fate. Only do not let yourself be deceived by\nappearances.\"\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\nBeauty found her dreams so interesting that she was in no hurry to awake,\nbut presently the clock roused her by calling her name softly twelve\ntimes, and then she got up and found her dressing-table set out with\neverything she could possibly want; and when her toilet was finished she\nfound dinner was waiting in the room next to hers. But dinner does not\ntake very long when you are all by yourself, and very soon she sat down\ncosily in the corner of a sofa, and began to think about the charming\nPrince she had seen in her dream.\n\n\"He said I could make him happy,\" said Beauty to herself.\n\n\"It seems, then, that this horrible Beast keeps him a prisoner. How can I\nset him free? I wonder why they both told me not to trust to appearances?\nI don't understand it. But, after all, it was only a dream, so why should\nI trouble myself about it? I had better go and find something to do to\namuse myself.\"\n\nSo she got up and began to explore some of the many rooms of the palace.\n\nThe first she entered was lined with mirrors, and Beauty saw herself\nreflected on every side, and thought she had never seen such a charming\nroom. Then a bracelet which was hanging from a chandelier caught her eye,\nand on taking it down she was greatly surprised to find that it held a\nportrait of her unknown admirer, just as she had seen him in her dream.\nWith great delight she slipped the bracelet on her arm, and went on into a\ngallery of pictures, where she soon found a portrait of the same handsome\nPrince, as large as life, and so well painted that as she studied it he\nseemed to smile kindly at her. Tearing herself away from the portrait at\nlast, she passed through into a room which contained every musical\ninstrument under the sun, and here she amused herself for a long while in\ntrying some of them, and singing until she was tired. The next room was a\nlibrary, and she saw everything she had ever wanted to read, as well as\neverything she had read, and it seemed to her that a whole lifetime would\nnot be enough even to read the names of the books, there were so many. By\nthis time it was growing dusk, and wax candles in diamond and ruby\ncandlesticks were beginning to light themselves in every room.\n\nBeauty found her supper served just at the time she preferred to have it,\nbut she did not see anyone or hear a sound, and, though her father had\nwarned her that she would be alone, she began to find it rather dull.\n\nBut presently she heard the Beast coming, and wondered tremblingly if he\nmeant to eat her up now.\n\nHowever, as he did not seem at all ferocious, and only said gruffly:\n\n\"Good-evening, Beauty,\" she answered cheerfully and managed to conceal her\nterror. Then the Beast asked her how she had been amusing herself, and she\ntold him all the rooms she had seen.\n\nThen he asked if she thought she could be happy in his palace; and Beauty\nanswered that everything was so beautiful that she would be very hard to\nplease if she could not be happy. And after about an hour's talk Beauty\nbegan to think that the Beast was not nearly so terrible as she had\nsupposed at first. Then he got up to leave her, and said in his gruff\nvoice:\n\n\"Do you love me, Beauty? Will you marry me?\"\n\n\"Oh! what shall I say?\" cried Beauty, for she was afraid to make the Beast\nangry by refusing.\n\n\"Say 'yes' or 'no' without fear,\" he replied.\n\n\"Oh! no, Beast,\" said Beauty hastily.\n\n\"Since you will not, good-night, Beauty,\" he said. And she answered:\n\n\"Good-night, Beast,\" very glad to find that her refusal had not provoked\nhim. And after he was gone she was very soon in bed and asleep, and\ndreaming of her unknown Prince. She thought he came and said to her:\n\n\"Ah, Beauty! why are you so unkind to me? I fear I am fated to be unhappy\nfor many a long day still.\"\n\nAnd then her dreams changed, but the charming Prince figured in them all;\nand when morning came her first thought was to look at the portrait and\nsee if it was really like him, and she found that it certainly was.\n\nThis morning she decided to amuse herself in the garden, for the sun\nshone, and all the fountains were playing; but she was astonished to find\nthat every place was familiar to her, and presently she came to the brook\nwhere the myrtle trees were growing where she had first met the Prince in\nher dream, and that made her think more than ever that he must be kept a\nprisoner by the Beast. When she was tired she went back to the palace, and\nfound a new room full of materials for every kind of work--ribbons to make\ninto bows, and silks to work into flowers. Then there was an aviary full\nof rare birds, which were so tame that they flew to Beauty as soon as they\nsaw her, and perched upon her shoulders and her head.\n\n\"Pretty little creatures,\" she said, \"how I wish that your cage was nearer\nto my room, that I might often hear you sing!\"\n\nSo saying she opened a door, and found to her delight that it led into her\nown room, though she had thought it was quite the other side of the\npalace.\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\nThere were more birds in a room farther on, parrots and cockatoos that\ncould talk, and they greeted Beauty by name; indeed, she found them so\nentertaining that she took one or two back to her room, and they talked to\nher while she was at supper; after which the Beast paid her his usual\nvisit, and asked the same questions as before, and then with a gruff\n\"good-night\" he took his departure, and Beauty went to bed to dream of her\nmysterious Prince. The days passed swiftly in different amusements, and\nafter a while Beauty found out another strange thing in the palace, which\noften pleased her when she was tired of being alone. There was one room\nwhich she had not noticed particularly; it was empty, except that under\neach of the windows stood a very comfortable chair; and the first time she\nhad looked out of the window it had seemed to her that a black curtain\nprevented her from seeing anything outside. But the second time she went\ninto the room, happening to be tired, she sat down in one of the chairs,\nwhen instantly the curtain was rolled aside, and a most amusing pantomime\nwas acted before her; there were dances and colored lights, and music, and\npretty dresses, and it was all so gay that Beauty was in ecstacies. After\nthat she tried the other seven windows in turn, and there was some new and\nsurprising entertainment to be seen from each of them, so that Beauty\nnever could feel lonely any more. Every evening after supper the Beast\ncame to see her, and always before saying good-night asked her in his\nterrible voice:\n\n\"Beauty, will you marry me?\"\n\nAnd it seemed to Beauty, now she understood him better, that when she\nsaid, \"No, Beast,\" he went away quite sad. But her happy dreams of the\nhandsome young Prince soon made her forget the poor Beast, and the only\nthing that at all disturbed her was to be constantly told to distrust\nappearances, to let her heart guide her, and not her eyes, and many other\nequally perplexing things, which, consider as she would, she could not\nunderstand.\n\nSo everything went on for a long time, until at last, happy as she was,\nBeauty began to long for the sight of her father and her brothers and\nsisters; and one night, seeing her look very sad, the Beast asked her what\nwas the matter. Beauty had quite ceased to be afraid of him. Now she knew\nthat he was really gentle in spite of his ferocious looks and his dreadful\nvoice. So she answered that she was longing to see her home once more.\nUpon hearing this the Beast seemed sadly distressed, and cried miserably.\n\n\"Ah! Beauty, have you the heart to desert an unhappy Beast like this? What\nmore do you want to make you happy? Is it because you hate me that you\nwant to escape?\"\n\n\"No, dear Beast,\" answered Beauty softly, \"I do not hate you, and I should\nbe very sorry never to see you any more, but I long to see my father\nagain. Only let me go for two months, and I promise to come back to you\nand stay for the rest of my life.\"\n\nThe Beast, who had been sighing dolefully while she spoke, now replied:\n\n\"I cannot refuse you anything you ask, even though it should cost me my\nlife. Take the four boxes you will find in the room next to your own, and\nfill them with everything you wish to take with you. But remember your\npromise and come back when the two months are over, or you may have cause\nto repent it, for if you do not come in good time you will find your\nfaithful Beast dead. You will not need any chariot to bring you back. Only\nsay good-bye to all your brothers and sisters the night before you come\naway, and when you have gone to bed turn this ring round upon your finger\nand say firmly: 'I wish to go back to my palace and see my Beast again.'\nGood-night, Beauty.  Fear nothing, sleep peacefully, and before long you\nshall see your father once more.\"\n\nAs soon as Beauty was alone she hastened to fill the boxes with all the\nrare and precious things she saw about her, and only when she was tired of\nheaping things into them did they seem to be full.\n\nThen she went to bed, but could hardly sleep for joy. And when at last she\ndid begin to dream of her beloved Prince she was grieved to see him\nstretched upon a grassy bank sad and weary, and hardly like himself.\n\n\"What is the matter?\" she cried.\n\nBut he looked at her reproachfully, and said:\n\n\"How can you ask me, cruel one? Are you not leaving me to my death\nperhaps?\"\n\n\"Ah! don't be so sorrowful,\" cried Beauty; \"I am only going to assure my\nfather that I am safe and happy. I have promised the Beast faithfully that\nI will come back, and he would die of grief if I did not keep my word!\"\n\n\"What would that matter to you?\" said the Prince. \"Surely you would not\ncare?\"\n\n\"Indeed I should be ungrateful if I did not care for such a kind Beast,\"\ncried Beauty indignantly. \"I would die to save him from pain. I assure you\nit is not his fault that he is so ugly.\"\n\nJust then a strange sound woke her--someone was speaking not very far\naway; and opening her eyes she found herself in a room she had never seen\nbefore, which was certainly not nearly so splendid as those she was used\nto in the Beast's palace. Where could she be? She got up and dressed\nhastily, and then saw that the boxes she had packed the night before were\nall in the room. While she was wondering by what magic the Beast had\ntransported them and herself to this strange place she suddenly heard her\nfather's voice, and rushed out and greeted him joyfully. Her brothers and\nsisters were all astonished at her appearance, as they had never expected\nto see her again, and there was no end to the questions they asked her.\nShe had also much to hear about what had happened to them while she was\naway, and of her father's journey home. But when they heard that she had\nonly come to be with them for a short time, and then must go back to the\nBeast's palace for ever, they lamented loudly. Then Beauty asked her\nfather what he thought could be the meaning of her strange dreams, and why\nthe Prince constantly begged her not to trust to appearances. After much\nconsideration he answered: \"You tell me yourself that the Beast, frightful\nas he is, loves you dearly, and deserves your love and gratitude for his\ngentleness and kindness; I think the Prince must mean you to understand\nthat you ought to reward him by doing as he wishes you to, in spite of his\nugliness.\"\n\nBeauty could not help seeing that this seemed very probable; still, when\nshe thought of her dear Prince who was so handsome, she did not feel at\nall inclined to marry the Beast. At any rate, for two months she need not\ndecide, but could enjoy herself with her sisters. But though they were\nrich now, and lived in a town again, and had plenty of acquaintances,\nBeauty found that nothing amused her very much; and she often thought of\nthe palace, where she was so happy, especially as at home she never once\ndreamed of her dear Prince, and she felt quite sad without him.\n\nThen her sisters seemed to have got quite used to being without her, and\neven found her rather in the way, so she would not have been sorry when\nthe two months were over but for her father and brothers, who begged her\nto stay, and seemed so grieved at the thought of her departure that she\nhad not the courage to say good-bye to them. Every day when she got up she\nmeant to say it at night, and when night came she put it off again, until\nat last she had a dismal dream which helped her to make up her mind. She\nthought she was wandering in a lonely path in the palace gardens, when she\nheard groans which seemed to come from some bushes hiding the entrance of\na cave, and running quickly to see what could be the matter, she found the\nBeast stretched out upon his side, apparently dying. He reproached her\nfaintly with being the cause of his distress, and at the same moment a\nstately lady appeared, and said very gravely:\n\n\"Ah! Beauty, you are only just in time to save his life. See what happens\nwhen people do not keep their promises! If you had delayed one day more,\nyou would have found him dead.\"\n\nBeauty was so terrified by this dream that the next morning she announced\nher intention of going back at once, and that very night she said good-bye\nto her father and all her brothers and sisters, and as soon as she was in\nbed she turned her ring round upon her finger, and said firmly:\n\n\"I wish to go back to my palace and see my Beast again,\" as she had been\ntold to do.\n\nThen she fell asleep instantly, and only woke up to hear the clock saying,\n\"Beauty, Beauty,\" twelve times in its musical voice, which told her at\nonce that she was really in the palace once more. Everything was just as\nbefore, and her birds were so glad to see her! but Beauty thought she had\nnever known such a long day, for she was so anxious to see the Beast again\nthat she felt as if supper-time would never come.\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\nBut when it did come and no Beast appeared she was really frightened; so,\nafter listening and waiting for a long time, she ran down into the garden\nto search for him. Up and down the paths and avenues ran poor Beauty,\ncalling him in vain, for no one answered, and not a trace of him could she\nfind; until at last, quite tired, she stopped for a minute's rest, and saw\nthat she was standing opposite the shady path she had seen in her dream.\nShe rushed down it, and, sure enough, there was the cave, and in it lay\nthe Beast--asleep, as Beauty thought. Quite glad to have found him, she\nran up and stroked his head, but to her horror he did not move or open his\neyes.\n\n\"Oh! he is dead; and it is all my fault,\" said Beauty, crying bitterly.\n\nBut then, looking at him again, she fancied he still breathed, and,\nhastily fetching some water from the nearest fountain, she sprinkled it\nover his face, and to her great delight he began to revive.\n\n\"Oh! Beast, how you frightened me!\" she cried. \"I never knew how much I\nloved you until just now, when I feared I was too late to save your life.\"\n\n\"Can you really love such an ugly creature as I am?\" said the Beast\nfaintly. \"Ah! Beauty, you only came just in time. I was dying because I\nthought you had forgotten your promise. But go back now and rest, I shall\nsee you again by-and-by.\"\n\nBeauty, who had half expected that he would be angry with her, was\nreassured by his gentle voice, and went back to the palace, where supper\nwas awaiting her; and afterwards the Beast came in as usual, and talked\nabout the time she had spent with her father, asking if she had enjoyed\nherself, and if they had all been very glad to see her.\n\nBeauty answered politely, and quite enjoyed telling him all that had\nhappened to her. And when at last the time came for him to go, and he\nasked, as he had so often asked before:\n\n\"Beauty, will you marry me?\" she answered softly:\n\n\"Yes, dear Beast.\"\n\nAs she spoke a blaze of light sprang up before the windows of the palace;\nfireworks crackled and guns banged, and across the avenue of orange trees,\nin letters all made of fire-flies, was written: \"Long live the Prince and\nhis Bride.\"\n\nTurning to ask the Beast what it could all mean, Beauty found that he had\ndisappeared, and in his place stood her long-loved Prince! At the same\nmoment the wheels of a chariot were heard upon the terrace, and two ladies\nentered the room. One of them Beauty recognized as the stately lady she\nhad seen in her dreams; the other was also so grand and queenly that\nBeauty hardly knew which to greet first.\n\nBut the one she already knew said to her companion:\n\n\"Well, Queen, this is Beauty, who has had the courage to rescue your son\nfrom the terrible enchantment. They love one another, and only your\nconsent to their marriage is wanting to make them perfectly happy.\"\n\n\"I consent with all my heart,\" cried the Queen. \"How can I ever thank you\nenough, charming girl, for having restored my dear son to his natural\nform?\"\n\nAnd then she tenderly embraced Beauty and the Prince, who had meanwhile\nbeen greeting the Fairy and receiving her congratulations.\n\n\"Now,\" said the Fairy to Beauty, \"I suppose you would like me to send for\nall your brothers and sisters to dance at your wedding?\"\n\nAnd so she did, and the marriage was celebrated the very next day with the\nutmost splendor, and Beauty and the Prince lived happily ever after.","title":"Beauty and the Beast","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":7187}