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 for you , Beauty ? '' `` The only thing I wish for is to see you come home safely , '' she answered . But this only vexed her sisters , who fancied she was blaming them for having asked for such costly things . Her father , however , was pleased , but as he thought that at her age she certainly ought to like pretty presents , he told her to choose something . `` Well , dear father , '' she said , `` as you insist upon it , I beg that you will bring me a rose . I have not seen one since we came here , and I love them so much . '' So the merchant set out and reached the town as quickly as possible , but only to find that his former companions , believing him to be dead , had divided between them the goods which the ship had brought ; and after six months of trouble and expense he found himself as poor as when he started , having been able to recover only just enough to pay the cost of his journey . To make matters worse , he was obliged to leave the town in the most terrible weather , so that by the time he was within a few leagues of his home he was almost exhausted with cold and fatigue . Though he knew it would take some hours to get through the forest , he was so anxious to be at his journey 's end that he resolved to go on ; but night overtook him , and the deep snow and bitter frost made it impossible for his horse to carry him any further .
Not a house was to be seen ; the only shelter he could get was the hollow trunk XXXXX a great tree , and there he crouched all the night which seemed to him the longest he had ever known .
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