The Blue Fairy Book
of his daughters could be persuaded to come. He promised to return at
the time appointed, and then, anxious to escape from the presence of the
Beast, he asked permission to set off at once. But the Beast answered
that he could not go until next day.
“Then you will find a horse ready for you,” he said. “Now go and eat
your supper, and await my orders.”
The poor merchant, more dead than alive, went back to his room, where
the most delicious supper was already served on the little table which
was drawn up before a blazing fire. But he was too terrified to eat, and
only tasted a few of the dishes, for fear the Beast should be angry if
he did not obey his orders. When he had finished he heard a great noise
in the next room, which he knew meant that the Beast was coming. As he
could do nothing to escape his visit, the only thing that remained was
to seem as little afraid as possible; so when the Beast appeared and
asked roughly if he had supped well, the merchant answered humbly that
he had, thanks to his host’s kindness. Then the Beast warned him to
remember their agreement, and to prepare his daughter exactly for what
she had to expect.
“Do not get up to-morrow,” he added, “until you see the sun and hear
a golden bell ring. Then you will find your breakfast waiting for you
here, and the horse you are to ride will be ready in the courtyard. He
will also bring you back again when you come with your daughter a month
hence. Farewell. Take a rose to Beauty, and remember your promise!”
The merchant was only too glad when the Beast went away, and though he
could not sleep for sadness, he lay down until the sun rose. Then, after
a hasty breakfast, he went to gather Beauty’s rose, and mounted his
horse, which carried him off so swiftly that in an instant he had lost
sight of the palace, and he was still wrapped in gloomy thoughts when it
stopped before the door of the cottage.
His sons and daughters, who had been very uneasy at his long absence,
rushed to meet him, eager to know the result of his journey, which,
seeing him mounted upon a splendid horse and wrapped in a rich mantle,
they supposed to be favorable. He hid the truth from them at first, only
saying sadly to Beauty as he gave her the rose:
“Here is what you asked me to bring you; you little know what it has
cost.”
But this excited their curiosity so greatly that presently he told
them his adventures from beginning to end, and then they were all very
unhappy. The girls lamented loudly over their lost hopes, and the sons
declared that their father should not return to this terrible castle,
and began to make plans for killing the Beast if it should come to fetch
him. But he reminded them that he had promised to go back. Then the
girls were very angry with Beauty, and said it was all her fault, and
that if she had asked for something sensible this would never have
happened, and complained bitterly that they should have to suffer for
her folly.
Poor Beauty, much distressed, said to them:
“I have, indeed, caused this misfortune, but I assure you I did it
innocently. Who could have guessed that to ask for a rose in the middle
of summer would cause so much misery? But as I did the mischief it is
only just that I should suffer for it. I will therefore go back with my
father to keep his promise.”
At first nobody would hear of this arrangement, and her father and
brothers, who loved her dearly, declared that nothing should make them
let her go; but Beauty was firm. As the time drew near she divided
all her little possessions between her sisters, and said good-by to
everything she loved, and when the fatal day came she encouraged and
cheered her father as they mounted together the horse which had brought
him back. It seemed to fly rather than gallop, but so smoothly that
Beauty was not frightened; indeed, she would have enjoyed the journey if
she had not feared what might happen to her at the end of it. Her father
still tried to persuade her to go back, but in vain. While they were
talking the night fell, and then, to their great surprise, wonderful
colored lights began to shine in all directions, and splendid fireworks
blazed out before them; all the forest was illuminated by them, and
even felt pleasantly warm, though it had been bitterly cold before. This
lasted until they reached the avenue of orange trees, where were statues
holding flaming torches, and when they got nearer to the palace they saw
that it was illuminated from the roof to the ground, and music sounded
softly from the courtyard. “The Beast must be very hungry,” said Beauty,
trying to laugh, “if he makes all this rejoicing over the arrival of his
prey.”
But, in spite of her anxiety, she could not help admiring all the
wonderful things she saw.
The horse stopped at the foot of the flight of steps leading to the
terrace, and when they had dismounted her father led her to the little
room he had been in before, where they found a splendid fire burning,
and the table daintily spread with a delicious supper.
The merchant knew that this was meant for them, and Beauty, who was
rather less frightened now that she had passed through so many rooms and
seen nothing of the Beast, was quite willing to begin, for her long ride
had made her very hungry. But they had hardly finished their meal when
the noise of the Beast’s footsteps was heard approaching, and Beauty
clung to her father in terror, which became all the greater when she saw
how frightened he was. But when the Beast really appeared, though
she trembled at the sight of him, she made a great effort to hide her
terror, and saluted him respectfully.
This evidently pleased the Beast. After looking at her he said, in a
tone that might have struck terror into the boldest heart, though he did
not seem to be angry:
“Good-evening, old man. Good-evening, Beauty.”
The merchant was too terrified to reply, but Beauty answered sweetly:
“Good-evening, Beast.”
“Have you come willingly?” asked the Beast. “Will you be content to stay
here when your father goes away?”
Beauty answered bravely that she was quite prepared to stay.
“I am pleased with you,” said the Beast. “As you have come of your own
accord, you may stay. As for you, old man,” he added, turning to the
merchant, “at sunrise to-morrow you will take your departure. When the
bell rings get up quickly and eat your breakfast, and you will find the
same horse waiting to take you home; but remember that you must never
expect to see my palace again.”
Then turning to Beauty, he said:
“Take your father into the next room, and help him to choose everything
you think your brothers and sisters would like to have. You will find
two traveling-trunks there; fill them as full as you can. It is only
just that you should send them something very precious as a remembrance
of yourself.”
Then he went away, after saying, “Good-by, Beauty; good-by, old man”;
and though Beauty was beginning to think with great dismay of her
father’s departure, she was afraid to disobey the Beast’s orders; and
they went into the next room, which had shelves and cupboards all round
it. They were greatly surprised at the riches it contained. There were
splendid dresses fit for a queen, with all the ornaments that were to
be worn with them; and when Beauty opened the cupboards she was quite
dazzled by the gorgeous jewels that lay in heaps upon every shelf. After
choosing a vast quantity, which she divided between her sisters--for she
had made a heap of the wonderful dresses for each of them--she opened
the last chest, which was full of gold.
“I think, father,” she said, “that, as the gold will be more useful to
you, we had better take out the other things again, and fill the trunks
with it.” So they did this; but the more they put in the more room there
seemed to be, and at last they put back all the jewels and dresses they
had taken out, and Beauty even added as many more of the jewels as she
could carry at once; and then the trunks were not too full, but they
were so heavy that an elephant could not have carried them!
“The Beast was mocking us,” cried the merchant; “he must have pretended
to give us all these things, knowing that I could not carry them away.”
“Let us wait and see,” answered Beauty. “I cannot believe that he meant
to deceive us. All we can do is to fasten them up and leave them ready.”
So they did this and returned to the little room, where, to their
astonishment, they found breakfast ready. The merchant ate his with a
good appetite, as the Beast’s generosity made him believe that he might
perhaps venture to come back soon and see Beauty. But she felt sure that
her father was leaving her for ever, so she was very sad when the bell
rang sharply for the second time, and warned them that the time had come
for them to part. They went down into the courtyard, where two horses
were waiting, one loaded with the two trunks, the other for him to
ride. They were pawing the ground in their impatience to start, and the
merchant was forced to bid Beauty a hasty farewell; and as soon as he
was mounted he went off at such a pace that she lost sight of him in an
instant. Then Beauty began to cry, and wandered sadly back to her
own room. But she soon found that she was very sleepy, and as she had
nothing better to do she lay down and instantly fell asleep. And then
she dreamed that she was walking by a brook bordered with trees, and
lamenting her sad fate, when a young prince, handsomer than anyone she
had ever seen, and with a voice that went straight to her heart, came
and said to her, “Ah, Beauty! you are not so unfortunate as you suppose.
Here you will be rewarded for all you have suffered elsewhere. Your
every wish shall be gratified. Only try to find me out, no matter how I
may be disguised, as I love you dearly, and in making me happy you will
find your own happiness. Be as true-hearted as you are beautiful, and we
shall have nothing left to wish for.”
“What can I do, Prince, to make you happy?” said Beauty.
“Only be grateful,” he answered, “and do not trust too much to your
eyes. And, above all, do not desert me until you have saved me from my
cruel misery.”
After this she thought she found herself in a room with a stately and
beautiful lady, who said to her:
“Dear Beauty, try not to regret all you have left behind you, for you
are destined to a better fate. Only do not let yourself be deceived by
appearances.”
Beauty found her dreams so interesting that she was in no hurry to
awake, but presently the clock roused her by calling her name softly
twelve times, and then she got up and found her dressing-table set
out with everything she could possibly want; and when her toilet was
finished she found dinner was waiting in the room next to hers. But
dinner does not take very long when you are all by yourself, and very
soon she sat down cosily in the corner of a sofa, and began to think
about the charming Prince she had seen in her dream.
“He said I could make him happy,” said Beauty to herself.
“It seems, then, that this horrible Beast keeps him a prisoner. How
can I set him free? I wonder why they both told me not to trust to
appearances? I don’t understand it. But, after all, it was only a
dream, so why should I trouble myself about it? I had better go and find
something to do to amuse myself.”
So she got up and began to explore some of the many rooms of the palace.
The first she entered was lined with mirrors, and Beauty saw herself
reflected on every side, and thought she had never seen such a charming
room. Then a bracelet which was hanging from a chandelier caught her
eye, and on taking it down she was greatly surprised to find that it
held a portrait of her unknown admirer, just as she had seen him in her