rvant, who gave a great cry at sight of her. The
good man came running at the noise, and was overwhelmed with joy at the
sight of his dear daughter. Their embraces lasted for more than a
quarter of an hour. When their transports had subsided, it occurred to
Beauty that she had no clothes to put on; but the servant told her that
she had just discovered in the next room a chest full of dresses trimmed
with gold and studded with diamonds. Beauty felt grateful to the
Beast for this attention, and having selected the simplest of the gowns
she bade the servant pack up the others, as she wished to send them as
presents to her sisters. The words were hardly out of her mouth when the
chest disappeared. Her father expressed the opinion that the Beast
wished her to keep them all for herself, and in a trice dresses and
chest were back again where they were before.

When Beauty had dressed she learned that her sisters, with their
husbands, had arrived. Both were very unhappy. The eldest had wedded an
exceedingly handsome man, but the latter was so taken up with his own
looks that he studied them from morning to night, and despised his
wife's beauty. The second had married a man with plenty of brains, but
he only used them to pay insults to everybody--his wife first and
foremost.

The sisters were greatly mortified when they saw Beauty dressed like a
princess, and more beautiful than the dawn. Her caresses were ignored,
and the jealousy which they could not stifle only grew worse when she
told them how happy she was. Out into the garden went the envious pair,
there to vent their spleen to the full.

'Why should this chit be happier than we are?' each demanded of the
other; 'are we not much nicer than she is?'

'Sister,' said the elder, 'I have an idea. Let us try to persuade her to
stay here longer than the eight days. Her stupid Beast will fly into a
rage when he finds she has broken her word, and will very likely devour
her.'

'You are right, sister,' said the other; 'but we must make a great fuss
of her if we are to make the plan successful.'

With this plot decided upon they went upstairs again, and paid such
attention to their little sister that Beauty wept for joy. When the
eight days had passed the two sisters tore their hair, and showed such
grief over her departure that she promised to remain another eight days.

Beauty reproached herself, nevertheless, with the grief she was causing
to the poor Beast; moreover, she