Beauty and the Beast

by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont

Once upon a time there lived a wealthy merchant and his three daughters.

One day, the father was to go to a far-off place and he asked his daughters what they wanted on his return. The first and the second daughter asked for lovely dresses. But the third daughter, whose name was Beauty, said, “Father, I only need a rose plucked by your hand.” The merchant, on his way back, had to cross through the deep forest. It was dark and the merchant tried to find a place to sleep. He suddenly found a huge castle and went inside to find nobody. There was a huge table with delicious food and he ate it all. 

Suddenly, a ferocious looking beast sprang out of the bush. He was wearing fine silk clothes and roared, “I gave you food and a bed to sleep in! And now, you are stealing my roses!” The merchant was frightened and told the Beast about Beauty’s gift. The Beast decided to let him go only if he promised to send Beauty to this castle. The merchant agreed and ran back home. He cried and told his daughters about the Beast. But Beauty loved her father a lot and agreed to go stay with the Beast.

The Beast treated Beauty with a lot of kindness. He was never rude to her. He let her stay in the biggest room and let her roam in the beautiful garden. Beauty would sit near the fireplace and sew while the Beast kept her company. At first, Beauty was afraid of the Beast but slowly, she began to like him.

One day, the Beast asked Beauty to marry him, but she refused. She was still afraid of his fearful-looking face. The Beast still treated her kindly and with a lot of love. Beauty missed her father a lot. The Beast gave her a magic mirror and said, “Look at the mirror and you can see your family. Now you won’t feel lonely anymore."