Beauty and the Beast
Once upon a time, a merchant set off
for market, he asked each of his three daughters what she would like as a
present on his return. The first daughter wanted a brocade dress, the second a
pearl necklace, but the third, whose name was Beauty, the youngest, prettiest
and sweetest of them all, said to her father;
“All I’d like is a rose you’ve picked
specially for me!”
When the merchant had finished his
business, he set off for home. However, a sudden storm blew up, and his horse
could hardly make headway in the howling gale. Cold and weary, the merchant had
lost all hope of reaching an inn when he suddenly noticed a bright light
shining in the middle of a wood. As he drew near, he saw that it was a castle,
bathed in light. “I hope I’ll find shelter there for the night,” he said to
himself. When he reached the door, he saw it was open, but though he shouted,
nobody came to greet him. Plucking up courage, he went inside, still calling
out to attract attention. On a table in the main hall, a splendid dinner lay
already served. The merchant lingered, still shouting for the owner of the
castle. But no one came, and so the starving merchant sat down to a hearty
meal. Overcome by curiosity, he ventured upstairs, when the corridor led into
magnificent rooms and halls. A fire crackled in the first room and a soft bed
looked very inviting. It was now late, and the merchant could not resist. He
lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. When he woke next morning, an unknown
hand had placed a mug of steaming coffee and some fruit by his bedside. The
merchant had breakfast and after tidying himself up, went downstairs to thank
his generous host. But, as the evening before, there was nobody in sight. Shaking
his head in wonder at the strangeness of it all, he went towards the garden
where he had left his horse, tethered to a tree. Suddenly, a large rose bush
caught his eye.
Remembering his promise to Beauty, he
bent down to pick a rose. Instantly, out of the rose garden, sprang a horrible
beast, wearing splendid clothes. Two bloodshot eyes, gleaming angrily, glared
at him and a deep, terrifying voice growled : “Ungrateful man! I gave you
shelter, you ate at my table and slept in my own bed, but now all the thanks I
get is the theft of my favourite flowers! I shall put you to death for this
slight!” Trembling with fear, the merchant fell on his knees before the Beast. “Forgive
me! Forgive me! Don’t kill me! I’ll do
anything you say! The rose wasn’t for me, it was for my daughter Beauty. I
promised to bring her back a rose from my journey!” The Beast dropped the paw
it had clamped on the unhappy merchant. “I shall spare your life, but on one
condition, that you bring me your daughter!” The terror-stricken merchant,
faced with certain death if he did not obey, promised that he would do so. When
he reached home in tears, his three daughters ran to greet him. After he had
told them of his dreadful adventure, Beauty put his mind at rest immediately. “Dear
father, I’d do anything for you! Don’t worry, you’ll be able to keep your
promise and save your life! Take me to the castle. I’ll stay there in your
place!” the merchant hugged his daughter. “I never did doubt your love for me.
For the moment I can only thank you for saving my life.” So Beauty was led to
the castle. The Beast, however, had quite an unexpected greeting for the girl.
Instead of menacing doom as it had done with her father, it was surprisingly
pleasant.
In the beginning, Beauty was
frightened of the Beast, and shuddered at the sight of it. Then she found that,
in spite of the monster’s awful head, her
horror of it was gradually fading as time went by. She had one of the finest
rooms in the Castle, and sat for hours, embroidering in front of the fire. And
the Beast would sit, for hours on end, only a short distance away, silently
gazing at her. Then it started to say a few kind words, till in the end, Beauty
was amazed to discover that she was actually enjoying its conversation. The day
passed, and Beauty and the Beast became good friends. Then one day, the Beast
asked the girl to be his wife. Taken by surprise, Beauty did not know what to
say. Marry such an ugly monster? She would rather die! But she did not want to
hurt the feelings of one who, after all, had been kind to her. And she
remembered too that she owed it her own life as well as her father’s. “I really
can’t say yes,” she began shakily. “I’d so much like to ………” The Beast
interrupted her with an abrupt gesture. “I quite understand! And I’m not
offended by your refusal!” Life went on as usual, and nothing further was said.
One day, the Beast presented Beauty with a magnificent magic mirror. When
Beauty peeped into it, she could see her family, far away. “You won’t feel so
lonely now,” were the words that accompanied the gift. Beauty stared for hours
at her distant family. Then she began to feel worried. One day, the Beast found
her weeping beside the magic mirror. “What’s wrong?” he asked, kindly as
always. “My father is gravely ill and close to dying! Oh, how I wish I could
see him again, before it’s too late!” But the Beast only shook its head. “No!
You will never leave this castle!” And off it stalked in a rage. However, a
little later, it returned and spoke solemnly to the girl. “If you swear that
you will return here in seven days time, I’ll let you go and visit your
father!” Beauty threw herself at the Beast’s feet in delight. “I swear! I swear
will! How kind you are! You’ve made a loving daughter so happy!” In reality,
the merchant had fallen ill from a broken heart at knowing his daughter was
being kept prisoner. When he embraced her again, he was soon on the road to
recovery. Beauty stayed beside him for hours on end, describing her life at the
Castle, and explaining that the Beast was really good and kind. The days
flashed past, and at last the merchant was able to leave his bed. He was
completely well again. Beauty was happy at last. However, she had failed to
notice that seven days had gone by. Then one night she woke from a terrible
nightmare. She had dreamt that the Beast was dying and calling for her,
twisting in agony. “Come back! Come back to me!” it was pleading. The solemn
promise she had made drove her to leave home immediately. “Hurry! Hurry, good
horse!” she said, whipping her steed onwards towards the castle, afraid that she
might arrive too late. She rushed up the stairs, calling, but there was no
reply. Her heart in her mouth, Beauty ran into the garden and there crouched
the Beast, its eyes shut, as though dead. Beauty threw herself at it and hugged
it tightly. “Don’t die! Don’t die! I’ll marry you……..” At these words, a
miracle took place. The Beast’s ugly snout turned magically into the face of a
handsome young man. “How I’ve been longing for this moment!” he said. “I was
suffering in silence, and couldn’t tell my frightful secret. An evil witch
turned me into a monster and only the love of a maiden willing to accept me as
I was, could transform me back into my real self. My dearest! I’ll be so happy
if you’ll marry me…….”
The wedding took place shortly after
and, from that day on, the young Prince would have nothing but roses in his
gardens. And that’s why, to this day, the castle is known as the Castle of the
Rose.
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