BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Once upon a time , in a very far-off country , there lived a merchant who had been so fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously rich . As he had , however , six sons and six daughters , he found that his money was not too much to let them all have everything they fancied , as they were accustomed to do . But one day a most unexpected misfortune befell them . Their house caught fire and was speedily burnt to the ground , with all the splendid furniture , the books , pictures , gold , silver , and precious goods it contained ; and this was only the beginning of their troubles . Their father , who had until this moment prospered in all ways , suddenly lost every ship he had upon the sea , either by dint of pirates , shipwreck , or fire . Then he heard that his clerks in distant countries , whom he trusted entirely , had proved unfaithful ; and at last from great wealth he fell into the direst poverty . All that he had left was a little house in a desolate place at least a hundred leagues from the town in which he had lived , and to this he was forced to retreat with his children , who were in despair at the idea of leading such a different life . Indeed , the daughters at first hoped that their friends , who had been so numerous while they were rich , would insist on their staying in their houses now they no longer possessed one . But they soon found that they were left alone , and that their former friends even attributed their misfortunes to their own extravagance , and showed no intention of offering them any help . So nothing was left for them but to take their departure to the cottage , which stood in the midst of a dark forest , and seemed to be the most dismal place upon the face of the earth . As they were too poor to have any servants , the girls had to work hard , like peasants , and the sons , for their part , cultivated the fields to earn their living . Roughly clothed , and living in the simplest way , the girls regretted unceasingly the luxuries and amusements of their former life ; only the youngest tried to be brave and cheerful . She had been as sad as anyone when misfortune overtook her father , but , soon recovering her natural gaiety , she set to work to make the best of things , to amuse her father and brothers as well as she could , and to try to persuade her sisters to join her in dancing and singing . But they would do nothing of the sort , and , because she was not as doleful as themselves , they declared that this miserable life was all she was fit for . But she was really far prettier and cleverer than they were ; indeed , she was so lovely that she was always called Beauty . After two years , when they were all beginning to get used to their new life , something happened to disturb their tranquillity . Their father received the news that one of his ships , which he had believed to be lost , had come safely into port with a rich cargo . All the sons and daughters at once thought that their poverty was at an end , and wanted to set out directly for the town ; but their father , who was more prudent , begged them to wait a little , and , though it was harvest time , and he could ill be spared , determined to go himself first , to make inquiries . Only the youngest daughter had any doubt but that they would soon again be as rich as they were before , or at least rich enough to live comfortably in some town where they would find amusement and gay companions once more . So they all loaded their father with commissions for jewels and dresses which it would have taken a fortune to buy ; only Beauty , feeling sure that it was of no use , did not ask for anything .
Her father , noticing her silence , said : `` And what shall I bring XXXXX you , Beauty ? ''
After because for into like than though to upon with