One day, the merchant got lost deep in the woods and reached a castle hidden among the trees. He went inside and yelled, “Hello! Is anybody home?”
“Since nobody seems to be here,” he thought, “I’ll spend the night here.”
In the morning, just as he was preparing to leave, he thought of Beauty and plucked a rose. Suddenly, he heard a shout. A horrible beast was standing before him.
“Ungrateful man! How dare you steal from my garden ever after I let you stay here?” he cried.
The merchant shivered with fright. He begged the Beast not to hurt him, and tried to explain that the flower as for his daughter Beauty.
The Beast said, “I will let you go if you promise to send Beauty to live with me.”
The merchant fearfully agreed.
At home, he sorrowfully told Beauty the whole story. She said, “You should keep your promise. I will go to the Beast. Don’t worry,” and she left for the castle.
In the beginning, she too was frightened by the ugly Beast and his gruff voice. But in a few days, she realized that the Beast was actually very kind and gentle. He took good care of her and she slowly began to like him. She was no longer afraid of him.
Even though the Beast dearly loved her, Beauty missed her home and her father. She often thought of him and cried.
One day, she looked through a magic mirror that the Beast gave her, and saw that her father was terribly unwell. “Oh! Father is ill! I must go to see him!” she cried and panic.
Unable to see her sadness, the Beast sighed and said, “Go back home. But I hope you will never forget me.”
“Thank you Beast!” she said.
Beauty was so happy that she hugged the Beast and ran home.
Beauty was glad to be home again, and under her care, her father quickly recovered.
One day, she thought of the Beast and looked into the mirror. To her dismay, she saw that the Beast too was ill. He was on the ground moaning in pain.
She sped to the castle. The Beast was dying and was very glad to see her. She held him and sobbed, “Beast, what’s wrong? Don’t die! I love you!” Then she kissed him softly.
At the very instant, the Beast changed into a handsome prince. Beauty was so surprised.
“Thank you Beauty! A wicked witch had cast a spell on me. Your sweet words broke the spell!” he said.
Beauty and the Prince were soon married, and they lived happily ever after.
