Beauty and the Beast
would lose his gains. So, whilst his children danced with joy at the news, the merchant set about preparing for his long journey.
In their transport his daughters loaded him with commissions for gowns and jewels it would have taken a fortune to buy. Only Beauty would not ask for anything. Her father, noting her silence, interrupted the others who still kept adding to their list of requirements.
‘Well, Beauty,’ he said, ‘and what shall I bring home for you? Surely you, too, wish for something?’
‘Dear father,’ she answered, ‘I wish for the most precious thing in the world; and that is to see you home again safe and sound.’
This answer covered the sisters with confusion, and vexed them so that one of them, speaking up for the others, said tartly: ‘This small miss is putting on airs. She thinks, no doubt, she cuts a figure with her affected fine sentiments!’
Her father, however, was touched by her good feeling. Nevertheless he told her to choose something—‘For,’ said he, ‘at your age it is only natural to like dresses and pretty presents.’
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