‘No, no,’ said Beauty, crying; ‘I like you too much to wish to cause your death. I promise you I will return in eight days. You have shown me that my sisters are married, and that my brothers have joined the army. My father is all alone; let me stay with him one week.’
‘You shall be with him to-morrow morning,’ said the Beast. ‘But remember your promise. All you have to do when you want to return is to put your ring on a table when you are going to bed. Good-bye, Beauty!’
As usual, the Beast sighed when he said these last words, and Beauty went to bed quite down-hearted at having grieved him.
When she woke the next morning she found she was in her father's house. She rang a little bell which stood by the side of her bed, and it was answered by their servant, who gave a great cry at sight of her. The good man came running at the noise, and was overwhelmed with joy at the sight of his dear daughter. Their embraces lasted for more than a quarter of an hour. When their transports had subsided, it occurred to Beauty that she had no clothes to put on; but the servant told her that she had just discovered in the next room a chest full of dresses trimmed with gold and studded with diamonds. Beauty felt grateful to the Beast for this attention, and having selected the simplest of the gowns she bade the servant pack up the others, as she wished to send them as presents to her sisters. The words were hardly out of her mouth when the chest disappeared. Her father expressed the opinion that the Beast wished her to keep them all for herself, and in a trice dresses and chest were back again where they were before.
When Beauty had dressed she learned that her sisters, with their husbands, had arrived. Both were very unhappy. The eldest had wedded an exceedingly handsome man, but the latter was so taken up with his own looks that he studied them from morning to night, and despised his wife's beauty. The second had married a man with plenty of brains, but he only used them to pay insults to everybody — his wife first and foremost.
The sisters were greatly mortified when they saw Beauty dressed like a princess, and more beautiful than the dawn. Her caresses were ignored, and the jealousy which they could not stifle only grew worse when she told them how happy she was. Out into the garden went the envious pair, there to vent their spleen to the full.
‘Why should this chit be happier than we are?’ each demanded of the other; ‘are we not much nicer than she is?’
‘Sister,’ said the elder, ‘I have an idea. Let us try to persuade her to stay here longer than the eight days. Her stupid Beast will fly into a rage when he finds she has broken her word, and will very likely devour her.’
‘You are right, sister,’ said the other; ‘but we must make a great fuss of her if we are to make the plan successful.’
With this plot decided upon they went upstairs again, and paid such attention to their little sister that Beauty wept for joy. When the eight days had passed the two sisters tore their hair, and showed such grief over her departure that she promised to remain another eight days.
Beauty reproached herself, nevertheless, with the grief she was causing to the poor Beast; moreover, she greatly missed not seeing him. On the tenth night of her stay in her father's house she dreamed that she was in the palace garden, where she saw the Beast lying on the grass nearly dead, and that he upbraided her for her ingratitude. Beauty woke up with a start, and burst into tears.
‘I am indeed very wicked,’ she said, ‘to cause so much grief to a Beast who has shown me nothing but kindness. Is it his fault that he is so ugly, and has so few wits? He is good, and that makes up for all the rest. Why did I not wish to marry him? I should have been a good deal happier with him than my sisters are with their husbands. It is neither good looks nor brains in a husband that make a woman happy; it is beauty of character, virtue, kindness. All these qualities the Beast has. I admit I have no love for him, but he has my esteem, friendship, and gratitude. At all events I must not make him miserable, or I shall reproach myself all my life.’
With these words Beauty rose and placed her ring on the table.
Hardly had she returned to her bed than she was asleep, and when she woke the next morning she saw with joy that she was in the Beast's palace. She dressed in her very best on purpose to please him, and nearly died of impatience all day, waiting for nine o'clock in the evening. But the clock struck in vain: no Beast appeared. Beauty now thought she must have caused his death, and rushed about the palace with loud despairing cries. She looked everywhere, and at last, recalling her dream, dashed into the garden by the canal, where she had seen him in her sleep. There she found the poor Beast lying unconscious, and thought he must be dead. She threw herself on his body, all her horror of his looks forgotten, and, feeling his heart still beat, fetched water from the canal and threw it on his face.
The Beast opened his eyes and said to Beauty:
‘You forgot your promise. The grief I felt at having lost you made me resolve to die of hunger; but I die content since I have the pleasure of seeing you once more.’
‘Dear Beast, you shall not die,’ said Beauty; ‘you shall live and become my husband. Here and now I offer you my hand, and swear that I will marry none but you. Alas, I fancied I felt only friendship for you, but the sorrow I have experienced clearly proves to me that I cannot live without you.’
Beauty had scarce uttered these words when the castle became ablaze with lights before her eyes: fireworks, music — all proclaimed a feast. But these splendours were lost on her: she turned to her dear Beast, still trembling for his danger.
Judge of her surprise now! At her feet she saw no longer the Beast, who had disappeared, but a prince, more beautiful than Love himself, who thanked her for having put an end to his enchantment. With good reason were her eyes riveted upon the prince, but she asked him nevertheless where the Beast had gone.
‘You see him at your feet,’ answered the prince. ‘A wicked fairy condemned me to retain that form until some beautiful girl should consent to marry me, and she forbade me to betray any sign of intelligence. You alone in all the world could show yourself susceptible to the kindness of my character, and in offering you my crown I do but discharge the obligation that I owe you.’
In agreeable surprise Beauty offered her hand to the handsome prince, and assisted him to rise. Together they repaired to the castle, and Beauty was overcome with joy to find, assembled in the hall, her father and her entire family. The lady who had appeared to her in her dream had had them transported to the castle.
‘Beauty,’ said this lady (who was a celebrated fairy), ‘come and receive the reward of your noble choice. You preferred merit to either beauty or wit, and you certainly deserve to find these qualities combined in one person. It is your destiny to become a great queen, but I hope that the pomp of royalty will not destroy your virtues. As for you, ladies,’ she continued, turning to Beauty's two sisters, ‘I know your hearts and the malice they harbour. Your doom is to become statues, and under the stone that wraps you round to retain all your feelings. You will stand at the door of your sister's palace, and I can visit no greater punishment upon you than that you shall be witnesses of her happiness. Only when you recognise your faults can you return to your present shape, and I am very much afraid that you will be statues for ever. Pride, ill-temper, greed, and laziness can all be corrected, but nothing short of a miracle will turn a wicked and envious heart.’
In a trice, with a tap of her hand, the fairy transported them all to the prince's realm, where his subjects were delighted to see him again. He married Beauty, and they lived together for a long time in happiness the more perfect because it was founded on virtue.
The End
Acknowledgments
Without the help of my long-term mentor, Holly Lisle, this book wouldn't have been what it is now, but without my family's support, it would still be part of my Unwritten Library. Thank you. I love you more than I can say.
Also, thank you, dear reader, for buying this book. Your enthusiasm for reading makes it possible for authors like me to live our dream. I
hope you enjoyed these stories.
About Katharina Gerlach
Katharina Gerlach was born in Germany in 1968. She and her three younger brothers grew up in the middle of a forest in the heart of the Luneburgian Heather. After romping through the forest with imagination as her guide, the tomboy learned to read and disappeared into magical adventures, past times or eerie fairytale woods.
She didn't stop at reading. During her training as a landscape gardener, she wrote her first novel, a manuscript full of a beginner's mistakes. Fortunately, she found books on Creative Writing, and soon her stories improved. For a while, reality interfered with her writing but after finishing a degree in forestry and a PhD in Science, she returned to her vocation. She likes to write Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Historical Novels for all age groups.
At present, she is writing at her next project in a small house near Hildesheim, Germany, where she lives with her husband, three children, and a dog.
Please visit Katharina's website (www.katharinagerlach.com), her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/KatharinaGerlach.Autorin), or follow her on twitter (@CatGerlach) or Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/catgerlach/).
Did you like this story? Please consider writing a review on Amazon or on a review site. Reviews are the best way to help the author whose book you enjoyed. Thank you in advance.
Copyright
The Independent Bookworm
Copyright 2014 by Katharina Gerlach; All Rights Reserved.
Cover Design, © Katharina Kolata, Independent Bookworm
Cover Picture, © Corona Zschusschen, www.sjusjun.com
If you find any typos or formatting problems in this eBook, please contact the publisher (www.IndependentBookworm.de).
This book may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means without the express written consent of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and locations portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity or resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Table of Contents
The King's Mechanic
Bonus Story: A Robber's Tale
The First Book in the Series
The Original: Beauty and the Beast
Acknowledgments
About Katharina Gerlach
Copyright
The King's Mechanic Page 11