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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, where 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
on 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. lnstantly, 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
days 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
I 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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Thanks
to Tom Burke for the story
The
stories section on this site is dedicated to Ryan
A. Francis, Tyler S. Billado, Troy P. J. Perreault
and Amelia G. Perreault June
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