give your life to save that of your father; and it
shall not go without a reward." As soon as Beauty awoke, she told her
father this dream; but though it gave him some comfort, he could not
take leave of his darling child without shedding many tears. When the
merchant got out of sight, Beauty sat down in the large hall, and began
to cry also; yet she had a great deal of courage, and so she soon
resolved not to make her sad case still worse by sorrow, which she knew
could not be of any use to her, but to wait as well as she could till
night, when she thought the beast would not fail to come and eat her up.
She walked about to take a view of all the palace, and the beauty of
every part of it much charmed her.

But what was her surprise, when she came to a door on which was written,
_Beauty's room_! She opened it in haste, and her eyes were all at once
dazzled at the grandeur of the inside of the room. What made her wonder
more than all the rest was a large library filled with books, a
harpsichord, and many other pieces of music. "The beast takes care I
shall not be at a loss how to amuse myself," said she. She then thought
that it was not likely such things would have been got ready for her, if
she had but one day to live; and began to hope all would not turn out so
bad as she and her father had feared. She opened the library, and saw
these verses written in letters of gold on the back of one of the books:

"Beauteous lady, dry your tears,
Here's no cause for sighs or fears;
Command as freely as you may,
Enjoyment still shall mark your sway."

"Alas!" said she, sighing, "there is nothing I so much desire as to see
my poor father and to know what he is doing at this moment," She said
this to herself; but just then by chance, she cast her eyes on a
looking-glass that stood near her, and in the glass she saw her home,
and her father riding up to the cottage in the deepest sorrow. Her
sisters came out to meet him, but for all they tried to look sorry, it
was easy to see that in their hearts they were very glad. In a short
time all this picture went away out of the glass: but Beauty began to
think that the beast was very kind to her, and that she had no need to
be afraid of him. About the middle of the day, she found a table laid
ready for her; and a sweet concert of music played all the time she was
eating her dinner without her seeing a single creature. But at supper,
when she was going to seat herself at tabl