{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_23311/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_23311","id":"gutenberg_23311","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23311","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales"],"text":"Produced by Jacqueline Jeremy, Janet Blenkinship and the\nOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n(This file was produced from images generously made\navailable by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBeauty and the Beast.\n\nPeter G. Thomson Cincinnati, O.\n\n\n\n\nBEAUTY AND THE BEAST.\n\n\nThere was once a merchant who had been very rich at one time, but who,\nhaving had heavy losses, was compelled to retire to a little cottage in\nthe country; where he lived with his three daughters. The two elder ones\nwere very much discontented at their poverty, and were always grumbling\nand making complaints. But the youngest one, who was called Beauty, and\nwho was as amiable as she was handsome, tried all she could to comfort\nher father and make his home happy.\n\nOnce, when he was going on a journey to try and mend his affairs, he\ncalled them around him, and asked them what he should bring them when he\nreturned. The two elder ones wanted each a number of nice presents; but\nBeauty, kissing him sweetly, said she would be content with a rose. So\nwhen the merchant was on his way back, he came to an elegant garden, of\nwhich the gate stood open; and thinking of Beauty's rose, he went in,\nand plucking a beautiful one, prepared to proceed on his journey.\n\n[Illustration: The Merchant and the Beast.]\n\nAs he turned to go, he saw a hideous Beast coming towards him, armed\nwith a sword! This terrible creature reproached him for stealing his\nflowers, of which he was very choice; and threatened to kill him on the\nspot! The merchant begged for his life, and said, that he had only taken\n\"a single one to please his daughter Beauty.\" On this, the beast said\ngruffly, \"well, I will let you off, if you will bring one of your\ndaughters here in your place. But she must come here _willingly_, and\nmeanwhile you may stay and rest in my palace until to-morrow.\" But, as\nyou may well believe, the poor father did not feel much like eating or\nsleeping; although everything was done for his comfort, and, in the\nmorning, the Beast sent him home upon a beautiful horse. But though the\nbirds sang around him, and the sun shone brightly, and all nature was\nsmiling on his path, the heart of the poor merchant was heavy, when he\nthought of his beloved daughters.\n\nWhen he came near his home, his children came forth to meet him; but,\nseeing the sadness of his face, and his eyes filled with tears, they\nasked him the cause of his trouble. Giving the rose to Beauty, he told\nher all. The two elder sisters laid all the blame upon Beauty; who cried\nbitterly, and said that as _she_ was the cause of her father's\nmisfortune, she alone must suffer for it, and was quite willing to go.\nSo Beauty got ready for the journey at once. The father (who meant to\nreturn to the Beast _himself_, after embracing his children) tried to\ndissuade her, but in vain; and so the two set out together for the\nBeast's palace, much to the secret joy of the envious sisters.\n\nWhen they arrived at the palace, the doors opened of themselves, sweet\nmusic was heard, and they found an elegant supper prepared. As soon as\nthey had refreshed themselves, the Beast entered, and said in a mild\ntone, \"Beauty, did you come here willingly to take the place of your\nfather?\" \"Yes, sir,\" she answered in a sweet but trembling voice. \"So\nmuch the better for you,\" replied the Beast. \"Your father can stay here\nto-night, but he must go home in the morning.\" The Beast then retired,\ngiving Beauty so kind a look as he went out, that she felt quite\nencouraged. The next morning, when her father left her, she cheered his\nheart by telling him that she thought she could soften the Beast's\nheart, and induce him to spare her life. After he was gone, she entered\nan elegant room, on the door of which was written, in letters of gold,\n\"Beauty's room.\"\n\nLying on the table was a portrait of herself, set in gold and diamonds,\nand on the wall, these words: \"_Beauty is Queen here; all things will\nobey her._\" Her meals were served to the sound of music; and at\nsupper-time, the Beast after knocking timidly, would walk in and talk so\namiably, that she soon lost all fear of him; and once when he failed to\ncome, felt quite disappointed! At last, one night, he said to her, \"Am I\nso _very_ ugly?\" \"Yes, indeed, you are,\" said Beauty, \"but you are so\nkind and generous, that I do not mind your looks.\" \"Will you marry me,\nthen, dear Beauty?\" said the poor Beast, with a look of such eager\nentreaty in his eyes, that Beauty's heart melted within her, and she was\nupon the point of saying \"Yes!\"\n\n[Illustration: Beauty takes her Fathers place.]\n\nBut happening to look towards him, at that moment her courage failed\nher, and, turning away her head, she replied softly, \"Oh! do not ask\nme.\" The Beast then bade her good-night, with a sad voice, and went away\nsighing as if his heart would break. The palace was full of rooms,\ncontaining the most beautiful objects. In one room she saw a numerous\ntroupe of monkeys, of all sizes and colors. They came to meet her,\nmaking her very low bows, and treating her with the greatest respect.\nBeauty was much pleased with them, and asked them to show her about the\npalace. Instantly, two tall and graceful apes, in rich dresses, placed\nthemselves, with great gravity, one on each side of her, while two\nsprightly little monkeys held up her train as pages. And from this time\nforth they waited upon her wherever she went, with all the attention and\nrespect, that officers of a royal palace are accustomed to pay to the\ngreatest Queens and Princesses.\n\n[Illustration: Am I so very ugly.]\n\nIn fact, Beauty was the Queen of this splendid palace. She had only to\nwish for anything to have it; and she would have been _quite_ contented\nif she could have had some company; for, except at supper-time, she was\nalways alone! Then the Beast would come in and behave so agreeably, that\nshe liked him more and more. And when he would say to her \"dear Beauty\nwill you marry me?\" in his soft and tender way, she could hardly find it\nin her heart to refuse him.\n\nNow, although Beauty had everything that heart could wish, she could not\nforget her father and sisters. At last, one evening she begged so hard\nto go home for a visit, that the Beast consented to her wish, on her\npromising not to stay more than two months. He then gave her a ring,\ntelling her to place it on her dressing-table, when she wished either to\ngo or return; and showed her a wardrobe filled with the most elegant\nclothes, as well as a quantity of splendid presents for her father and\nsisters.\n\nThe poor Beast was more sad than ever, after he had given his consent to\nher absence. It seemed to him as if he could not look at her enough, nor\nmuster courage to leave her. She tried to cheer him, saying, \"Be of good\nheart, Beauty will soon return,\" but nothing seemed to comfort him, and\nhe went sadly away.\n\nBeauty felt very badly when she saw how much the poor Beast suffered.\nShe tried, however, to dismiss him from her thoughts, and to think only\nof the joy of seeing her dear father and sisters on the morrow. Before\nretiring to rest, she took good care to place the ring upon the table,\nand great was her joy, on awaking the next morning, to find herself in\nher father's house, with the clothes and gifts from the palace at her\nbed-side!\n\nAt first she hardly knew where she was, for everything looked strange\nto her; but soon she heard the voice of her father, and, rushing out of\nthe room, threw her loving arms around his neck. Beauty then related all\nthe kindness and delicacy of the Beast toward her, and in return\ndiscovered that _he_ had been as liberal to her father and sisters. He\nhad given them the large and handsome house in which they now lived,\nwith an income sufficient to keep them in comfort.\n\nFor a long time Beauty was happy with her father and sisters; but she\nsoon discovered that her sisters were jealous of her, and envied her the\nfine dresses and jewels the Beast had given her. She often thought\ntenderly of the poor Beast, alone in his palace; and as the two months\nwere now over, she resolved to return to him as she had promised. But\nher father could not bear to lose her again, and coaxed her to stay with\nhim a few days longer; which she at last consented to do, with many\nmisgivings, when she thought of her broken promise to the lonely beast.\nAt last, on the night before she intended to return, she dreamed that\nshe saw the unhappy beast lying dead on the ground in the palace garden!\nShe awoke, all trembling with terror and remorse, and, leaving a note on\nthe table for her dear father; placed the ring within her bosom, and\nwished herself back again in the palace. As soon as daylight appeared,\nshe called her attendants, and searched the palace from top to bottom.\nBut the Beast was nowhere to be found! She then ran to the garden, and\n_there_, in the very spot that she had seen in her dream, lay the poor\nBeast, gasping and senseless upon the ground; and seeming to be in the\nagonies of death! At this pitiful sight, Beauty clasped her hands, fell\nupon her knees, and reproached herself bitterly for having caused his\ndeath.\n\n\"Alas! poor Beast!\" she said, \"_I_ am the cause of this. How can I ever\nforgive myself for my unkindness to _you_, who were so good and\ngenerous to me, and mine, and never even reproached me for my cruelty?\"\n\n[Illustration: The Beast Dying.]\n\nShe then ran to a fountain for cold water, which she sprinkled over him,\nher tears meanwhile falling fast upon his hideous face. In a few moments\nthe Beast opened his eyes, and said, \"now, that I see _you_ once more, I\nshall die contented.\" \"No, no,!\" she cried, \"you shall not die; you\nshall live, and Beauty will be your faithful wife!\" The moment she\nuttered these words, a dazzling light shone around--the palace was\nbrilliantly lighted up, and the air was filled with delicious music.\n\nIn place of the terrible and dying Beast, she saw a young and handsome\nPrince, who knelt at her feet, and told her that he had been condemned\nto wear the form of a frightful Beast, until a beautiful girl should\nlove him in spite of his ugliness! At the same moment, the Apes, and the\nMonkeys, who had been in attendance upon her, were transformed into\nelegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen, who ranged themselves at a\nrespectful distance, and performed their duties, as Gentlemen, and Maids\nof Honor. The grateful Prince now claimed Beauty for his wife; and _she_\nwho had loved him, even under the form of the Beast, was now tenfold\nmore in love with him, as he appeared in his rightful form. So the very\nnext day, Beauty and the Prince were married with great splendor, and\nlived happily together for ever after.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nNEW PICTURE BOOKS.\n\n\nPATIENCE, or the Poet and the Milkmaid.\n\n_With 10 Colored Illustrations, by H. F. Farny. Founded on Gilbert &\nSullivan's Comic Opera, \"Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride,\" adapted for\nChildren. PRICE, 25 CENTS._\n\nAT HOME. After Sowerby and Crane.\n\n_With 30 Full-page Illustrations in black, exact imitations of the\noriginals, with Cover and Frontispiece in color. PRICE, 15 CENTS._\n\nSUGAR AND SPICE, and Everything Nice.\n\n_With 30 Full-page Illustrations, in black. Cover and Frontispiece in\ncolors, and Verses adapted to the Illustrations. PRICE, 15 CENTS._\n\nPICTURES TO PAINT.\n\n_Consisting of 30 pages of Outline Illustrations, adapted for Coloring,\nwith Rhymes. PRICE, 15 CENTS._\n\nUNDER THE WINDOW. Painting Book.\n\n_Consisting of 30 pages of Outline Drawings, selected from the various\nworks of Kate Greenaway, adapted for Coloring. PRICE, 15 CENTS._\n\nBIG PICTURE BOOK SERIES.\n\n_Twelve kinds, large 4to., each consisting of Six Full-page\nIllustrations, in colors, with Titles in gold and colors, as follows:--_\n\n  =Cinderella.=\n  =Puss in Boots.=\n  =Red Riding Hood.=\n  =The Happy Family.=\n  =Jack and the Bean Stalk.=\n  =Jack the Giant Killer.=\n  =Drill of the A. B. C. Army.=\n  =Night before Christmas.=\n  =Sinbad the Sailor.=\n  =Blue Beard.=\n  =Aladdin.=\n  =Humpty Dumpty.=\n\nCHIMNEY CORNER SERIES. 25 Cts. Each.\n\n_Three kinds, large 4to., each consisting of eight Full-page\nIllustrations, in colors. The largest and handsomest books of the kind\nyet published._\n\n  =Mother Goose's Melodies.=\n  =Clever Cats.=\n  =Robinson Crusoe.=\n\nAUNT LAURA'S SERIES. 10 Cts. Each.\n\n_Six kinds, large 8vo., each containing six Full-page Colored\nIllustrations, viz:_\n\n  =Mamma's A. B. C. Book.=\n  =Rip Van Winkle.=\n  =Cock Robin.=\n  =Our Four Footed Friends.=\n  =Nursery Rhymes.=\n  =Mother Hubbard.=\n\nMARY BELL'S SERIES. 5 Cts. Each.\n\nEight kinds, small 4to., each containing four Full-page colored\nIllustrations. The largest and best books for the price yet published,\nviz:\n\n  =Hop O' My Thumb.=\n  =Children in the Wood.=\n  =Red Riding Hood.=\n  =Tom Thumb.=\n  =Little Playmates.=\n  =Goody Two Shoes.=\n  =Beauty and the Beast.=\n  =Little Tommy's Sled Ride.=\n\nPETER G. THOMSON,\n\nPUBLISHER, CINCINNATI, O.","title":"Beauty and the Beast","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":2277}