visit her.
There was but one thing that vexed her; which was that every night,
before the beast went away from her, he always made it a rule to ask her
if she would be his wife, and seemed very much grieved at her saying no.
At last, one night, she said to him, "You vex me greatly, beast, by
forcing me to refuse you so often; I wish I could take such a liking to
you as to agree to marry you, but I must tell you plainly, that I do not
think it will ever happen. I shall always be your friend; so try to let
that make you easy." "I must needs do so then," said the beast, "for I
know well enough how frightful I am; but I love you better than myself.
Yet I think I am very lucky in your being pleased to stay with me; now
promise me, Beauty, that you will never leave me." Beauty was quite
struck when he said this, for that very day she had seen in her glass
that her father had fallen sick of grief for her sake, and was very ill
for the want of seeing her again. "I would promise you, with all my
heart," said she, "never to leave you quite; but I long so much to see
my father, that if you do not give me leave to visit him I shall die
with grief." "I would rather die myself, Beauty," answered the beast,
"than make you fret; I will send you to your father's cottage, you shall
stay there, and your poor beast shall die of sorrow." "No," said Beauty,
crying, "I love you too well to be the cause of your death; I promise to
return in a week. You have shown me that my sisters are married, and my
brothers are gone for soldiers, so that my father is left all alone. Let
me stay a week with him." "You shall find yourself with him to-morrow
morning," replied the beast; "but mind, do not forget your promise. When
you wish to return you have nothing to do but to put your ring on a
table when you go to bed. Good-bye, Beauty!" The beast then sighed as he
said these words, and Beauty went to bed very sorry to see him so much
grieved. When she awoke in the morning, she found herself in her
father's cottage. She rung a bell that was at her bedside, and a servant
entered; but as soon as she saw Beauty, the woman gave a loud shriek;
upon which the merchant ran up stairs, and when he beheld his daughter
he was ready to die of joy. He ran to the bedside, and kissed her a
hundred times. At last Beauty began to remember that she had brought no
clothes with her to put on; but the servant told her she had just found
in the next room a large chest full of dres