Beauty And The Beast

Once upon a time, in a faraway country, there lived a merchant who had been so lucky in everything he did that he was very, very rich. He had six sons and six daughters, and with all that money he could give them everything they wanted, which they were used to.

But one day something terrible happened. Their house caught fire and burned to the ground, with all the beautiful furniture, books, pictures, gold, silver, and precious things inside. And that was only the beginning of their troubles. Their father, who had been so lucky until now, suddenly lost every ship he had at sea, either to pirates, storms, or fire. Then he heard that the people he trusted in faraway countries had been dishonest. And at last, from being very rich, he became very, very poor.

All he had left was a small house in a lonely place, at least a hundred miles from the town where they used to live. They had to move there, and the children were very sad to leave their old life behind.

At first, the daughters hoped that their friends, who had been so many when they were rich, would let them stay in their houses now that they had none. But they soon found out they were alone, and their old friends even said that the troubles were their own fault for being so extravagant.

No one offered to help them. So they had no choice but to go to the cottage, which stood in the middle of a dark forest and seemed like the saddest place on earth.

Since they were too poor to have servants, the girls had to work hard, like farmers. The boys worked in the fields to earn a living. Dressed in rough clothes and living simply, the girls never stopped missing the luxuries and fun of their old life.

Only the youngest tried to be brave and cheerful. She had been just as sad as anyone when trouble came, but she soon became happy again and tried to make the best of things. She cheered up her father and brothers and tried to get her sisters to dance and sing with her.

But they wouldn't, and because she wasn't as gloomy as they were, they said this miserable life was all she was good for. But she was actually much prettier and smarter than they were. She was so lovely that everyone called her Beauty.

After two years, when they were all starting to get used to their new life, something happened to shake things up. Their father heard that one of his ships, which he thought was lost, had come safely to port with a rich cargo.

All the sons and daughters thought their poverty was over and wanted to go to the town right away. But their father was more careful and asked them to wait. Even though it was harvest time and he was needed, he decided to go himself first to find out the truth.

Only the youngest daughter doubted they would be rich again soon, or at least rich enough to live comfortably in a town with fun and friends. So they all loaded their father with orders for jewels and dresses that would cost a fortune.

Only Beauty, feeling sure it was no use, didn't ask for anything. Her father noticed her silence and said, "And what shall I bring for you, Beauty?"

"The only thing I wish for is to see you come home safely," she answered.

But this only annoyed her sisters, who thought she was blaming them for asking for such expensive things. Her father, however, was pleased. But he thought that at her age she ought to like nice presents, so he told her to choose something.

"Well, dear father," she said, "since you insist, I beg you to bring me a rose. I haven't seen one since we came here, and I love them so much."

So the merchant set off and reached the town as quickly as he could. But he found that his old friends, thinking he was dead, had divided the ship's goods among themselves. After six months of trouble and expense, he was as poor as when he started, having only enough money to pay for his journey.

To make things worse, he had to leave town in terrible weather, so by the time he was a few miles from home, he was almost frozen and exhausted. Even though he knew it would take hours to get through the forest, he was so eager to get home that he decided to go on.

But night fell, and the deep snow and bitter cold made it impossible for his horse to go any further. There was no house in sight. The only shelter he could find was the hollow trunk of a big tree, and he crouched there all night, which seemed like the longest night ever.