Then , after a hasty breakfast , he went to gather Beauty 's rose , and mounted his horse , which carried him off so swiftly that in an instant he had lost sight of the palace , and he was still wrapped in gloomy thoughts when it stopped before the door of the cottage . His sons and daughters , who had been very uneasy at his long absence , rushed to meet him , eager to know the result of his journey , which , seeing him mounted upon a splendid horse and wrapped in a rich mantle , they supposed to be favorable . He hid the truth from them at first , only saying sadly to Beauty as he gave her the rose : `` Here is what you asked me to bring you ; you little know what it has cost . '' But this excited their curiosity so greatly that presently he told them his adventures from beginning to end , and then they were all very unhappy . The girls lamented loudly over their lost hopes , and the sons declared that their father should not return to this terrible castle , and began to make plans for killing the Beast if it should come to fetch him . But he reminded them that he had promised to go back . Then the girls were very angry with Beauty , and said it was all her fault , and that if she had asked for something sensible this would never have happened , and complained bitterly that they should have to suffer for her folly . Poor Beauty , much distressed , said to them : `` I have , indeed , caused this misfortune , but I assure you I did it innocently . Who could have guessed that to ask for a rose in the middle of summer would cause so much misery ? But as I did the mischief it is only just that I should suffer for it . I will therefore go back with my father to keep his promise . '' At first nobody would hear of this arrangement , and her father and brothers , who loved her dearly , declared that nothing should make them let her go ; but Beauty was firm . As the time drew near she divided all her little possessions between her sisters , and said good-by to everything she loved , and when the fatal day came she encouraged and cheered her father as they mounted together the horse which had brought him back . It seemed to fly rather than gallop , but so smoothly that Beauty was not frightened ; indeed , she would have enjoyed the journey if she had not feared what might happen to her at the end of it . Her father still tried to persuade her to go back , but in vain . While they were talking the night fell , and then , to their great surprise , wonderful colored lights began to shine in all directions , and splendid fireworks blazed out before them ; all the forest was illuminated by them , and even felt pleasantly warm , though it had been bitterly cold before . This lasted until they reached the avenue of orange trees , where were statues holding flaming torches , and when they got nearer to the palace they saw that it was illuminated from the roof to the ground , and music sounded softly from the courtyard . `` The Beast must be very hungry , '' said Beauty , trying to laugh , `` if he makes all this rejoicing over the arrival of his prey . '' But , in spite of her anxiety , she could not help admiring all the wonderful things she saw . The horse stopped at the foot of the flight of steps leading to the terrace , and when they had dismounted her father led her to the little room he had been in before , where they found a splendid fire burning , and the table daintily spread with a delicious supper .
The merchant knew that this was meant for them , and Beauty , who was rather less frightened now that she had passed through so many rooms and seen nothing of the Beast , was quite willing to begin , XXXXX her long ride had made her very hungry .
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