A wealthy merchant lives in a mansion with his three sons and three daughters.

They are all very

beautiful, of which the three sons and the youngest daughter, twenty-year-old Belle, are pure of
heart; the two eldest daughters, in contrast, are wicked and selfish, and secretly taunt and treat
the kind-hearted Belle like a servant to them. The merchant eventually loses all of his wealth in
a tempest at sea. He and his children are consequently forced to live in a small farmhouse and
work for their living. After some years of this, the merchant hears that one of the trade ships he
had sent off has arrived back in port, having escaped the destruction of its compatriots. He
returns to the city to discover whether it contains anything valuable. Before leaving, he asks his
daughters if they would like him to bring any gifts back for them. The oldest two ask for jewels
and fine dresses, thinking that his wealth has returned. Belle is satisfied with the promise of a
rose, as none grow in their part of the country. The merchant, to his dismay, finds that his ship's
cargo has been seized to pay his debts, leaving him without money to buy his daughters their
presents.
During his return, the merchant becomes lost in a forest. Seeking shelter, he enters a dazzling
palace. A hidden figure opens the giant doors and silently invites him in. The merchant finds
tables inside laden with food and drink, which seem to have been left for him by the palace's
invisible owner. The merchant accepts this gift and spends the night there. The next morning as
the merchant is about to leave, he sees a rose garden and recalls that Belle had desired a rose.
Upon picking the loveliest rose he can find, the merchant is confronted by a hideous "Beast"
which tells him that for taking his most precious possession after accepting his hospitality, the
merchant must die. The merchant begs to be set free, arguing that he had only picked the rose
as a gift for his youngest daughter. The Beast agrees to let him give the rose to Belle, but only if
the merchant will return.

Beauty dines with the Beast in an illustration by Anne Anderson.

The merchant is upset, but accepts this condition. The Beast sends him on his way, with jewels
and fine clothes for his daughters, and stresses that Belle must never know about his deal. The
merchant, upon arriving home, tries to hide the secret from Belle, but she pries it from him and
willingly goes to the Beast's castle. The Beast receives her graciously and informs her that she is

now mistress of the castle, and he is her servant. He gives her lavish clothing and food and
carries on lengthy conversations with her. Every night, the Beast asks Belle to marry him, only to
be refused each time. After each refusal, Belle dreams of a handsome prince who pleads with
her to answer why she keeps refusing him, to which she replies that she cannot marry the Beast
because she loves him only as a friend. Belle does not make the connection between the
handsome prince and the Beast and becomes convinced that the Beast is holding the prince
captive somewhere in the castle. She searches and discovers multiple enchanted rooms, but
never the prince from her dreams.
For several months, Belle lives a life of luxury at the Beast's palace, having every whim catered
to by servants, with no end of riches to amuse her and an endless supply of exquisite finery to
wear. Eventually she becomes homesick and begs the Beast to allow her to go see her family.
He allows it on the condition that she return exactly a week later. Belle agrees to this and sets off
for home with an enchanted mirror and ring. The mirror allows her to see what is going on back
at the Beast's castle, and the ring allows her to return to the castle in an instant when turned
three times around her finger. Her older sisters are surprised to find her well fed and dressed in
finery. They are envious when they hear of her happy life at the castle, and, hearing that she
must return to the Beast on a certain day, beg her to stay another day, even putting onion in their
eyes to make it appear as though they are weeping. They hope that the Beast will be angry with
Belle for breaking her promise and eat her alive. Belle's heart is moved by her sisters' false show
of love, and she agrees to stay.

Illustration by Warwick Goble.

Belle begins to feel guilty about breaking her promise to the Beast and uses the mirror to see him
back at the castle. She is horrified to discover that the Beast is lying half-dead from heartbreak
near the rose bushes her father had stolen from and she immediately uses the ring to return to
the Beast.
Belle weeps over the Beast, saying that she loves him. When her tears strike him, the Beast is
transformed into the handsome prince from Belle's dreams. The Prince informs her that long ago
a fairy turned him into a hideous beast after he refused to let her in from the rain, and that only by
finding true love, despite his ugliness, could the curse be broken. He and Belle are married and
they live happily ever after together.