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第3节

11-beauty and beast-第3节

小说: 11-beauty and beast 字数: 每页4000字

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there; fill them as full as you can。 It is only just that you

should send them something very precious as a remembrance

of yourself。〃



Then he went away; after saying; 〃Good…by; Beauty;

good…by; old man〃; and though Beauty was beginning to

think with great dismay of her father's departure; she was

afraid to disobey the Beast's orders; and they went into

the next room; which had shelves and cupboards all round

it。 They were greatly surprised at the riches it contained。

There were splendid dresses fit for a queen; with all the

ornaments that were to be worn with them; and when

Beauty opened the cupboards she was quite dazzled by

the gorgeous jewels that lay in heaps upon every shelf。

After choosing a vast quantity; which she divided between

her sistersfor she had made a heap of the wonderful

dresses for each of themshe opened the last chest;

which was full of gold。



〃I think; father;〃 she said; 〃that; as the gold will be

more useful to you; we had better take out the other

things again; and fill the trunks with it。〃 So they did

this; but the more they put in the more room there seemed

to be; and at last they put back all the jewels and dresses

they had taken out; and Beauty even added as many

more of the jewels as she could carry at once; and then

the trunks were not too full; but they were so heavy that

an elephant could not have carried them!



〃The Beast was mocking us;〃 cried the merchant; 〃he

must have pretended to give us all these things; knowing

that I could not carry them away。〃



〃Let us wait and see;〃 answered Beauty。 〃I cannot

believe that he meant to deceive us。 All we can do is to

fasten them up and leave them ready。〃



So they did this and returned to the little room; where;

to their astonishment; they found breakfast ready。 The

merchant ate his with a good appetite; as the Beast's

generosity made him believe that he might perhaps venture

to come back soon and see Beauty。 But she felt sure

that her father was leaving her for ever; so she was very

sad when the bell rang sharply for the second time; and

warned them that the time had come for them to part。

They went down into the courtyard; where two horses

were waiting; one loaded with the two trunks; the other

for him to ride。 They were pawing the ground in their

impatience to start; and the merchant was forced to bid

Beauty a hasty farewell; and as soon as he was mounted

he went off at such a pace that she lost sight of him in an

instant。 Then Beauty began to cry; and wandered sadly

back to her own room。 But she soon found that she was

very sleepy; and as she had nothing better to do she lay

down and instantly fell asleep。 And then she dreamed

that she was walking by a brook bordered with trees; and

lamenting her sad fate; when a young prince; handsomer

than anyone she had ever seen; and with a voice that

went straight to her heart; came and said to her; 〃Ah;

Beauty! you are not so unfortunate as you suppose。 Here

you will be rewarded for all you have suffered elsewhere。

Your every wish shall be gratified。 Only try to find me

out; no matter how I may be disguised; as I love you

dearly; and in making me happy you will find your own

happiness。 Be as true…hearted as you are beautiful; and

we shall have nothing left to wish for。〃



〃What can I do; Prince; to make you happy?〃 said

Beauty。



〃Only be grateful;〃 he answered; 〃and do not trust too

much to your eyes。 And; above all; do not desert me

until you have saved me from my cruel misery。〃



After this she thought she found herself in a room with

a stately and beautiful lady; who said to her:



〃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 be deceived by appearances。〃



Beauty found her dreams so interesting that she was in

no hurry to awake; but presently the clock roused her by

calling her name softly twelve times; and then she got up

and found her dressing…table set out with everything she

could possibly want; and when her toilet was finished she

found dinner was waiting in the room next to hers。 But

dinner does not take very long when you are all by yourself;

and very soon she sat down cosily in the corner of a

sofa; and began to think about the charming Prince she

had seen in her dream。



〃He said I could make him happy;〃 said Beauty to

herself。



〃It seems; then; that this horrible Beast keeps him a

prisoner。 How can I set him free? I wonder why they

both told me not to trust to appearances? I don't understand

it。 But; after all; it was only a dream; so why

should I trouble myself about it? I had better go and

find something to do to amuse myself。〃



So she got up and began to explore some of the many

rooms of the palace。



The first she entered was lined with mirrors; and Beauty

saw herself reflected on every side; and thought she had

never seen such a charming room。 Then a bracelet which

was hanging from a chandelier caught her eye; and on

taking it down she was greatly surprised to find that it

held a portrait of her unknown admirer; just as she had

seen him in her dream。 With great delight she slipped

the bracelet on her arm; and went on into a gallery of

pictures; where she soon found a portrait of the same

handsome Prince; as large as life; and so well painted that

as she studied it he seemed to smile kindly at her。 Tearing

herself away from the portrait at last; she passed through

into a room which contained every musical instrument

under the sun; and here she amused herself for a long

while in trying some of them; and singing until she was

tired。 The next room was a library; and she saw everything

she had ever wanted to read; as well as everything

she had read; and it seemed to her that a whole lifetime

would not be enough to even read the names of the books;

there were so many。 By this time it was growing dusk;

and wax candles in diamond and ruby candlesticks were

beginning to light themselves in every room。



Beauty found her supper served just at the time she

preferred to have it; but she did not see anyone or hear

a sound; and; though her father had warned her that she

would be alone; she began to find it rather dull。



But presently she heard the Beast coming; and wondered

tremblingly if he meant to eat her up now。



However; as he did not seem at all ferocious; and only

said gruffly:



〃Good…evening; Beauty;〃 she answered cheerfully and

managed to conceal her terror。 Then the Beast asked her

how she had been amusing herself; and she told him all

the rooms she had seen。



Then he asked if she thought she could be happy in his

palace; and Beauty answered that everything was so

beautiful that she would be very hard to please if she

could not be happy。 And after about an hour's talk

Beauty began to think that the Beast was not nearly so

terrible as she had supposed at first。 Then he got up to

leave her; and said in his gruff voice:



〃Do you love me; Beauty? Will you marry me?〃



〃Oh! what shall I say?〃 cried Beauty; for she was

afraid to make the Beast angry by refusing。



〃Say ‘yes' or ‘no' without fear;〃 he replied。



〃Oh! no; Beast;〃 said Beauty hastily。



〃Since you will not; good…night; Beauty;〃 he said。



And she answered; 〃Good…night; Beast;〃 very glad to

find that her refusal had not provoked him。 And after

he was gone she was very soon in bed and asleep; and

dreaming of her unknown Prince。 She thought he came

and said to her:



〃Ah; Beauty! why are you so unkind to me? I fear I

am fated to be unhappy for many a long day still。〃



And then her dreams changed; but the charming Prince

figured in them all; and when morning came her first

thought was to look at the portrait; and see if it was really

like him; and she found that it certainly was。



This morning she decided to amuse herself in the garden;

for the sun shone; and all the fountains were playing;

but she was astonished to find that every place was

familiar to her; and presently she came to the brook where

the myrtle trees were growing where she had first met the

Prince in her dream; and that made her think more than

ever that he must be kept a prisoner by the Beast。 When

she was tired she went back to the palace; and found a

new room full of materials for every kind of workribbons

to make into bows; and silks to work into flowers。

Then there was an aviary full of rare birds; which were so

tame that they flew to Beauty as soon as they saw her;

and perched upon her shoulders and her head。



〃Pretty little creatures;〃 she said; 〃how I wish that

your cage was nearer to my room; that I might often hear

you sing!



So saying she opened a door; and found; to her delight;

that it led into her own room; though she had thought it

was quite the other side of the palace。



There were more birds in a room farther on; parro

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