Beauty and the Beast

Once, in a bustling French city, there lived an extremely wealthy merchant with his six children—three sons and three daughters. He loved them all dearly and spared no expense in hiring the finest teachers to educate them. When the youngest daughter was small, everyone admired her and called her “the little Beauty.” As she grew, the nickname remained. Yet her finest qualities could be seen in her kind heart and quiet deeds. Beauty loved to read difficult books, play sweet music on the harpsichord, and treat every servant with gentle respect, while her two older sisters cared only for fashionable gatherings. They dreamed of marrying wealthy dukes or counts, and they laughed whenever Beauty chose a quiet book over a grand ball.

Without warning, the merchant’s business ventures failed, and nearly his entire fortune vanished in an instant. His former admirers stopped visiting, leaving the family with nothing but a small, lonely country house far from the city. “We must work for our living now,” the father told his children with a heavy heart. The older sisters complained bitterly, believing that hard work was beneath them, and waited for their grand admirers to come to their rescue. Yet no one came. Beauty, however, politely refused several offers of marriage so that she could stay beside her father. Once they moved to the country house, the merchant and his three sons worked hard in the fields, while Beauty rose early each morning to prepare meals, spin thread, and keep the rooms …