Beauty and the BeastLeprince de Beaumont, Jeanne-Marie
General
Beauty and the Beast
Leprince de Beaumont, Jeanne-Marie
Fairy tales
She scarce had said so, when the trunk
disappeared. Her father told her, that Beast insisted on her keeping
them herself; and immediately both gowns and trunk came back again.
[Illustration: Beauty at Supper with the Beast]
Beauty dressed herself; and in the mean time they sent to her sisters,
who hasted thither with their husbands. They were both of them very
unhappy. The eldest had married a gentleman, extremely handsome indeed,
but so fond of his own person, that he was full of nothing but his own
dear self, and neglected his wife. The second had married a man of wit,
but he only made use of it to plague and torment every body, and his
wife most of all. Beauty's sisters sickened with envy, when they saw her
dressed like a Princess, and more beautiful than ever; nor could all her
obliging affectionate behaviour stifle their jealousy, which was ready
to burst when she told them how happy she was. They went down into the
garden to vent it in tears; and said one to the other, "In what is this
little creature better than us, that she should be so much happier?"
"Sister, said the eldest, a thought just strikes my mind; let us
endeavour to detain her above a week, and perhaps the silly monster will
be so enraged at her for breaking her word, that he will devour her."
"Right, sister, answered the other, therefore we must shew her as much
kindness as possible." After they had taken this resolution, they went
up, and behaved so affectionately to their sister, that poor Beauty wept
for joy. When the week was expired, they cried and tore their hair, and
seemed so sorry to part with her, that she promised to stay a week
longer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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