Classic Storybook Fables
Page 2
The girls were all pretty, but the youngest was so striking that even as a child, she
was given the nickname “Beauty.” As she grew, the name continued to suit her, so
Beauty she remained. She was not only beautiful to look at but a lovely person on
the inside as well, and everyone who knew her adored her. Everyone, that is, except
her two sisters, who were envious of her in every way. Where she was humble and
kind, they were proud and cruel.
One day, without warning, the merchant lost his fortune. Overnight, the once
wealthy family was forced to move from their luxurious mansion in the city to the
merchant’s only remaining property: a humble farm in the country. The man went
from being a gentleman in fine clothes to being a laborer in the fields.
Beauty’s life also changed. The girls’ mother had died when Beauty was a
young girl, and now, from early morning until well after dark, she alone cooked,
sewed, cleaned, and did the thousand-and-one things it took to keep a household
running smoothly. Even though her new life was hard and often made her sad, she
learned to take pride in her work, and at the end of a long day, she looked forward
to resting by the fire, where she would read to her father or play her harp.
Her sisters, however, could not adapt to this new lifestyle. When they weren’t
wailing and moaning, they were cross and spiteful. Bored with country life, they
Beauty
and the Beast
20
f
slept late every morning, then expected Beauty to wait on them hand and foot. The
young men who had come to call when the sisters were rich no longer cared to visit
proud young women who now were poor.
Some time after the family’s move to the country, good news arrived: a
trading ship that the merchant had invested in, and that was thought to have been
lost at sea, had at last returned to port. Anticipating that he would make a profit
21
f
on the goods the vessel carried, the merchant prepared to make the journey back to
town. When his older daughters learned that their fortunes would soon be restored,
they begged their father to bring back gifts of splendid gowns, expensive shoes, and
fine jewelry. Beauty, however, asked for nothing except his safe return.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything, Beauty?” her father asked.
Aware that her sisters were growing angry with her for not being as selfish as
they were, she answered, “Actually, a rose would be nice. We can’t seem to grow
them here, and I miss the ones we had in our old garden.”
With hugs and kisses and high hopes, the merchant departed. But upon
arriving at his destination, he soon learned the sad truth. The vessel had been
caught in a storm, and in order to save the ship and crew, much of the cargo had
been thrown overboard. Now, between the cost of repairs to the ship and the
22
f
sailors’ wages, the merchant was even poorer than before. Downhearted, he packed
up and headed for home.
On the journey that night, things for the merchant got even worse. He was
caught in a blinding snowstorm in a forest thirty miles from home. As the wind
howled, he could barely make out the shapes of hungry wolves as they followed
him through the woods, waiting for his stumbling horse to slip and fall. Then,
miraculously, he caught sight of a light through the trees. Soon he could see that
it was not just a single light but an entire mansion, with windows aglow from
top to bottom. As he passed through the front gate, the merchant realized that
even though it was snowing heavily in the forest, not a single flake fell within the
grounds of this estate. And what grounds they were! Manicured gardens, filled with
flowers and trees, decorated the landscape.
23
f
The merchant found a stable, doors wide open, with a warm, dry stall and
plenty of fresh hay and water. His starving horse began to eat. The merchant
continued on to the palace, where he hoped to get permission to stay the night.
He knocked at the front door and rang the bell, but no one came. To his
surprise, the door was unlocked, so he let himself in. He called out, only to hear
the echo fade unanswered. To his left was a lovely room with comfortable chairs
pulled up to a welcoming fire. He removed his wet cloak and warmed himself by the
fireside. There he waited, expecting sooner or later to be discovered by a servant, but
no one came. Exhausted, he dozed off and on in the warm glow. The mantel clock
chimed, reminding him of the lateness of the hour, and of how long he had been
sitting undisturbed.
Now, quite sure no one was home, he opened the door to an adjoining room,
where, to his astonishment, he found a candlelit table covered with every sort of
wonderful food, but at which only one place had been set. Overcome with hunger,
the merchant sat at the table and ate. Still no one appeared.
“Surely,” he thought, “there must be a wonderful fairy who lives here, who is
kindly providing everything I need.” When he finished eating, he found a turned-
down bed and a cheerful fire blazing in a nearby room.
“You are most kind, good fairy,” he said aloud. He removed his tattered and
weather-stained garments, climbed into the bed, and was soon fast asleep. He was
amazed the next morning to see that the old clothes he had left on the chair had
been replaced by a new, handsomely tailored suit. “Thank you, good fairy!” he said
as he dressed. In the room where he had dined the previous evening, he now found
a sumptuous breakfast awaiting him. Later, as he walked to the stable, he passed
beneath a beautiful trellis covered with the loveliest roses. Reminded of his daughter
Beauty, and her simple request, he plucked a single blossom.
24
f
CLASSIC STORYBOOK
FABLES
Suddenly, from behind him there came a terrifying roar, and he turned to see a
horrible monster about to pounce on him.
“How dare you?!” the Beast snarled. “I have saved your life, fed and clothed
you, and made you a guest in my house, and you steal the one thing I love the
most—my roses! I’ll give you fifteen minutes to make your peace with heaven and
then you will pay dearly for your thievery!”
“Please!” the merchant cried, and he fell to his knees trembling. “Please, my
lord, have pity! I took the rose only as a gift for one of my
daughters, Beauty. I had no idea—”
“Ah, so you have daughters, do you?” the Beast growled. “Well, I will spare
your life only if one of your daughters will come to take your place. But she must
come of her own free will, and before you can go, you must swear to me that if one
of them refuses to come, you yourself will return here in seven days.”
“I swear!” the frightened man said. The merchant had no intention of letting
one of his daughters take his place, but he agreed, if only to have a chance to say
good-bye to his children.
Then, as he turned to go, the Beast stopped suddenly, and in a surprisingly
kind voice said, “No guest of this house ever goes away empty-handed. You will find
a chest in t
he room where you slept. Fill it with whatever you want, and I will have
it sent to your home.”
With that, the Beast left him. In the bedroom, the merchant did indeed find
a chest, and next to it were pieces of gold and jewels. “Well,” he thought, “if I am
going to die, at least my children will be provided for.”
So he placed some gold and jewels in the chest, closed
the lid, and went to the stable to get his horse.
When he arrived home, his daughters rushed out to greet him, and as he
hugged them, he burst into tears. He handed Beauty the rose that he still held
in his hand and then told them the entire story. When he had finished, the older
daughters wept and angrily turned on Beauty. “It’s all her fault. She just had to
have a rose!” they sneered. “And look, she hasn’t shed a single tear.”
28
f
CLASSIC STORYBOOK FABLES
“What good will crying do?” replied Beauty, who indeed did not weep like her
sisters. “Besides, Father is not going to die. I asked for the rose, and I intend to pay
the price by going to the Beast’s palace.”
“No, Beauty,” the merchant said. “I will not hear of you sacrificing your young
life for mine.”
“Father, it’s of no use for you to try to stop me!” Beauty’s voice was firm. “I
could not live with myself if I knew you had died because of my foolish request.”
The merchant knew that it was pointless to argue and was deeply sorry that
it had to come to this. His older daughters, on the other hand, were secretly glad,
thinking that soon they would finally be rid of their faultless little sister.
That evening when the merchant went to his bedroom, he found the chest that
the Beast had promised to send. He asked Beauty what she thought he should do
with the treasure.
“While you were away,” Beauty said, “two young gentlemen began calling on
my sisters. Perhaps it would be best to set aside the money for their dowries. That
way, if anything happens, at least they will be taken care of.” The merchant thought
this was very sound advice and did as she suggested.
All too quickly the seven days passed, and it was time to return to the Beast’s
palace. The older sisters made a great show of grief as they said good-bye to Beauty,
pretending to cry and faint from sorrow. The merchant’s horse knew the way, and
by nightfall they found themselves at the gates of the Beast’s estate. Just as before,
the magnificent palace was aglow. Had it not been for the terrifying nature of their
visit, Beauty surely would have enjoyed the spectacle. The father and daughter found
the gardens, stable, and palace all empty as before—but this time, the banquet table
was set for two instead of just one.
“I suppose this Beast wants to fatten me up before he devours me,” Beauty
thought, so she tried to enjoy what she assumed would be her last meal.
29
f
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
As they finished eating, the Beast suddenly joined them. He was more
frightening than she had ever imagined, and his terrifying presence filled even
that large chamber. The merchant gasped and couldn’t stop himself from crying,
for he knew that the moment he had feared the most was now upon them. Beauty
trembled with horror but tried desperately to compose herself for her father’s sake.
“So, your daughter came after all,” said the Beast as he fixed his ferocious gaze
upon her. “Tell me, did you come of your own free will?”
She had looked away, but as she answered, her eyes met his. “Yes,” she replied.
30
f
“Then you are a good daughter,” he said in a quiet voice. The tone of his reply
surprised Beauty, and for a moment she thought perhaps there was some kindness
deep within the Beast after all. But then he turned to her father.
“And you,” he said sternly. “You must leave tomorrow morning and never
return! Good night, Beauty,” he said, then he left as quickly as he had come.
This encounter with the monster had left her father weak and exhausted. As he
leaned heavily on her, she helped him into a bed in the next room, where he quickly
went to sleep. Beauty found a bed for herself in an adjoining chamber. That night,
31
f
she dreamed that a lovely woman came to her and said, “Do not fear, Beauty, for
your kindness to your father will not go unrewarded.” The next morning, she told
her father about the dream.
“Perhaps,” he said, a bit comforted, “the kind fairy who lives in this enchanted
place will help you.”
As he prepared to leave, the merchant kept insisting that it was he who should
be staying and not his daughter, but Beauty had made up her mind. After many
tears and farewell embraces, Beauty watched as her father rode through the gates
and pointed his horse toward home. The sadness of seeing her father for the last
time overwhelmed the girl, and she wept. As she dried her tears and walked back to
the palace, she realized that hiding from the Beast would be useless, so she gathered
up her courage and began to walk from room to room. Soon she came to a door
over which were written the words “Beauty’s Room.” Upon entering, she was amazed
to find that of all the beautiful rooms in the palace, this was her favorite. There
were shelves loaded with books, a closet full of the loveliest gowns, volumes of sheet
music, and a large variety of musical instruments—including a harp.
“If the Beast is intending to kill me,” thought Beauty, “it seems strange that
he would go to all this trouble to make my life so pleasant.” She removed a book
from the shelf and found an elegant gold inscription inside:
Beauty,
Everything within this house is at your command.
Ask for anything you wish.
32
f
CLASSIC STORYBOOK FABLES
“Ah,” Beauty sighed,
“as beautiful as all of this
is, my only true wish
is to see my poor father
once again.”
As she spoke, the
reflection in a nearby
mirror grew foggy. Out of
the mist appeared her father,
stooped with sadness as he
rode into their farmyard.
Her sisters rushed out to
meet him. Even though
they pretended to be sad
that Beauty was not with
him, she could see in
their faces that they were
secretly glad to be rid of
her. The image faded, then
disappeared altogether.
Beauty was grateful
that the Beast had allowed
her to see her father again.
“Perhaps,” she thought,
“this monster is kinder
than he appears.”
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
At lunchtime, Beauty found a
lavish meal laid out for her in the
dining room. Even though she ate
alone, she enjoyed a lovely concert
played by invisible musicians.
That evening at dinner,
her host finally made an
appearance. As she was about
to seat herself at the table,
<
br /> Beauty was startled to see
the Beast
standing
in the
shadows at
the edge of
the room.
“May I watch you eat
your dinner, Beauty?” the Beast
asked softly. Beauty thought that she had
prepared herself for anything that might happen
when she saw the monster next, but this strange
request surprised her. Despite herself, she trembled as she
answered, “You are the master here.”
“There you are wrong, Beauty,” the Beast said, his eyes
never leaving her as he spoke, “for you are mistress in this house,
and if my presence annoys you, I will go. But tell me,” he continued,
“do you think that I am very ugly?”
She paused, fearing that her answer might anger the monster, then finally
said, “Yes, I’m afraid I do . . . but I say that only because I think you want the
truth. I also think you have been very generous.”
“I hope that someday you will find me less ugly,” said the Beast, “but I also hope
that you will never lie to me. And the last thing I want is for you to be unhappy, so
please remember that this household and everything in it is yours to command.”
“Thank you,” said Beauty. “You are indeed very kind, and when I think of
that, you are not so frightening.”
“I may have a kind heart,” the Beast said sadly, “but I am still a monster.”
“There are many people who are cruel but are able to hide their
monstrosity beneath their human form,” said Beauty. “I
prefer the company of someone who may appear on the
outside to be a monster but is truly gentle and
good within.”
This touched the Beast deeply. “I wish I could tell
you how much what you have said means to me. As
it is, I can only ask you this: Beauty, will you be
my wife?”
Beauty was taken aback and couldn’t
help but show her surprise at this question. She
looked away, trying to avoid the
monster’s intense