s in a room further on, parrots and cockatoos that
could talk, and they greeted Beauty by name. Indeed, she found them so
entertaining that she took one or two back to her room, and they talked
to her while she was at supper; after which the beast paid her his usual
visit and asked the same questions as before, and then with a gruff
"good-night" he took his departure, and Beauty went to bed to dream of
her mysterious prince. The days passed swiftly in different amusements,
and after a while Beauty found out another strange thing in the palace,
which often pleased her when she was tired of being alone. There was one
room which she had not noticed particularly. It was empty, except that
under each of the windows stood a very comfortable chair, and the first
time she had looked out of the window it had seemed to her that a black
curtain prevented her from seeing anything outside. But the second time
she went into the room, happening to be tired, she sat down in one of
the chairs, and instantly the curtain was rolled aside and a most
amusing pantomime was acted before her. There were dances, and colored
lights, and music, and pretty dresses, and it was all so gay that Beauty
was in ecstasies. After that she tried the other seven windows in turn,
and there was some new and surprising entertainment to be seen from each
of them, so that Beauty never could feel lonely any more. Every evening
after supper the beast came to see her, and always before saying
good-night asked her in his terrible voice:

"Beauty, will you marry me?"

And it seemed to Beauty, now she understood him better, that when she
said, "No, beast," he went away quite sad. But her happy dreams of the
handsome young prince soon made her forget the poor beast, and the only
thing that at all disturbed her was to be constantly told to distrust
appearances, to let her heart guide her, and not her eyes, and many
other equally perplexing things, which, consider as she would, she could
not understand.

So everything went on for a long time, until at last, happy as she was,
Beauty began to long for the sight of her father and her brothers and
sisters; and one night, seeing her look very sad, the beast asked her
what was the matter. Beauty had quite ceased to be afraid of him now she
knew that he was really gentle in spite of his ferocious looks and his
dreadful voice. So she answered that she was longing to see her home
once more. Upon hearing this the beast seemed sa