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第8章 墨炎暴怒

As soon as Beauty was alone she hastened to fill the boxeswith all the rare and precious things she saw about her, and onlywhen she was tired of heaping things into them did they seem tobe full.

ite of his weariness the howling of the wolves kept him awake,and even when at last the day broke he was not much better off,for the falling snow had covered up every path, and he did notknow which way to turn.

Beauty was so terrified by this dream that the next morningshe announced her intention of going back at once, and that verynight she said good-bye to her father and all her brothers andsisters, and as soon as she was in bed she turned her ring roundupon her finger, and said firmly:

But this reply vexed her sisters, who fancied she was blamingthem for having asked for such costly things. Her father, how-ever, was pleased, but as he thought that at her age she certainlyought to like pretty presents, he told her to choose something.

"Pretty little creatures," she said, "how I wish that your cagewas nearer to my room, that I might often hear you sing!"

Beauty found her dreams so interesting that she was in nohurry to awake, but presently the clock roused her by calling hername softly twelve times, and then she got up and found herdressing-table set out with everything she could possibly want;and when her toilet was finished she found dinner was waiting inthe room next to hers. But dinner does not take very long whenyou are all by yourself, and very soon she sat down cosily in thecorner of a sofa, and began to think about the charming Princeshe had seen in her dream.

All that he had left was a little house in a desolate place at leasta hundred leagues from the town in which he had lived, and to thishe was forced to retreat with his children, who were in despair atthe idea of leading such a different life. Indeed, the daughters atfirst hoped that their friends, who had been so numerous whilethey were rich, would insist on their staying in their houses nowthey no longer possessed one. But they soon found that theywere left alone, and that their former friends even attributed theirmisfortunes to their own extravagance, and showed no intentionof offering them any help. So nothing was left for them but totake their departure to the cottage, which stood in the midst of

"Dear Beauty, try not to regret all you have left behind you,for you are destined to a better fate. Only do not let yourself bedeceived by appearances."

one answered, and not a trace of him could she find; until at last,