Beauty and the Beast

Part One · A Rose for Beauty

Once upon a time, a wealthy merchant lived in a great city with his six children, three sons and three daughters. All his daughters were pretty, but the youngest was so lovely that everyone simply called her Beauty. Her two older sisters were proud, and they were jealous of her. They spent their days at fancy parties, and they laughed at Beauty because she preferred to stay at home and read good books.

Then, in a single terrible season, the merchant lost his whole fortune when his ships were lost at sea. All that remained was a small cottage far out in the countryside. Beauty's sisters wept and grumbled all day, but Beauty got up at four o'clock every morning to clean the house and make breakfast for the family. "Crying will not bring back our fortune," she said, "and we can be happy without it." Her sisters decided she was too foolish to understand.

After a year, the merchant heard the news that one of his ships had arrived safely in port. Beauty's sisters immediately begged him to bring back new dresses, ribbons and jewels, but Beauty asked for nothing. "What would you like, Beauty?" asked her father. "Since you are kind enough to think of me," she answered, "please bring me a rose, because none grow around here." She did not really need anything, but she did not want to embarrass her sisters.

When the merchant reached the city, however, he found that his ship's cargo was tangled up in arguments, and he came away just as poor as before. On the long journey home, he lost his way in a deep, dark forest. Snow was falling, the wind howled, and he could hear wolves in the darkness. Then he noticed lights shining between the trees, and he found a grand palace with every window glowing.

Part Two · The Palace in the Snow

The palace gates stood open, but there was nobody in sight. Inside, a warm fire was crackling, and a table was set with a delicious dinner for one person. The merchant waited a long time, but nobody came, so at last he ate the dinner and fell asleep in a soft, comfortable bed. In the morning, he found clean clothes and a cup of hot chocolate waiting for him. "A kind fairy must live here," he thought.

As he was leaving, the merchant passed beneath an arbor covered in roses, and he remembered Beauty's request. He picked one lovely rose. At that very moment, he heard a dreadful roar, and a frightful Beast came striding toward him. "Ungrateful man!" growled the Beast. "I sheltered you, I fed you, and I gave you a bed. And now you steal my roses, which I treasure more than anything in the world!"

The merchant fell to his knees. "Forgive me, my lord," he begged. "The rose was a present for one of my daughters." "Do not call me lord. I am called the Beast," it replied. "You must pay for that rose, unless one of your daughters will come here willingly to take your place." The Beast also filled a chest with gold for the family. The merchant had no intention of sending a daughter, but he promised to return in three months.

When the merchant arrived home, he handed Beauty the rose. "Take it, Beauty," he said sadly, "but it has cost your poor father dearly." Then he explained everything. Beauty's sisters blamed her for asking for a rose, but Beauty did not cry. "The Beast asked for a daughter," she said calmly, "and I am the one who wanted the rose, so I will go." Nothing her father said could make her change her mind.

Part Three · The Beast

So Beauty traveled to the palace with her father, and they said a tearful goodbye. Beauty was frightened, but the Beast treated her with great gentleness. He gave her a beautiful room filled with books, a harpsichord for making music, and a magic mirror. Above the door was written: "Wish and command, for you are queen here." When Beauty wished to see her father, the mirror showed him sitting sadly at home.

Every evening at nine o'clock, the Beast came to sit with Beauty while she ate her supper. At first she trembled at the sound of his heavy footsteps, but little by little she began to look forward to his visits. He was kind and thoughtful, and he listened carefully to everything she said. "Do you find me very ugly?" he asked her once. "I do," said Beauty, "because I cannot tell a lie, but I think you are very good."

Then each night, just before he left, the Beast asked her the same question. "Beauty, will you marry me?" And each night she answered him as gently as she possibly could. "No, Beast." He sighed so mournfully that the whole palace seemed to tremble. "Then at least promise me that you will never leave," he said. Beauty grew fonder of him every day, but she still could not bring herself to say yes.

Part Four · The Ring

One evening, Beauty saw in the magic mirror that her father had fallen ill with sadness because he missed her so much. She begged the Beast to let her go and see him. "I will let you go," said the Beast, "even though I may die of grief without you. Take this ring. When you wish to return, simply place it on the table before you sleep. But please come back within one week."

The next morning, Beauty woke up at home. Her father was overjoyed, and he soon got well. But her sisters were jealous of her elegant clothes and her happy face, so they decided to trick her. "Let us keep her here past the week," they whispered, "and then the Beast will be furious with her." Whenever Beauty talked of leaving, they cried and pretended to be heartbroken, so kind Beauty stayed a little longer.

On the tenth night, Beauty dreamed that the Beast was lying in the palace garden, very still and terribly weak. She woke up in tears. "How could I be so unkind to him?" she said. "It is neither handsome looks nor cleverness that make a good husband. It is goodness, and nobody is better than the Beast." She placed the ring on the table, and when she awoke in the morning, she was back at the palace.

Beauty searched every room, calling for the Beast, but she could not find him anywhere. At last she remembered her dream and hurried out to the garden. There he lay beside the fountain, too heartbroken to eat. She splashed cool water on his face. "Oh, Beast," she cried, "please do not die! Live, and I will marry you. I believed I only liked you, but now I know that I love you."

The moment she spoke, the palace sparkled with light, and music and fireworks filled the air. When Beauty looked down again, the Beast had vanished. In his place stood a handsome prince, who thanked her for breaking the spell. A wicked fairy had turned him into a Beast, and the spell could only break when someone loved him for his good heart, not for his looks. Beauty's kindness had set him free at last.

Then a good fairy appeared and brought Beauty's whole family to the palace. She turned the two jealous sisters into stone statues beside the palace gate. "You will stay there," she said, "until you see how unkind you have been, and then you may be sorry and come down." Beauty and her prince were married the very next day, and they lived happily together for many, many years, because their happiness was built on goodness.