Beauty and the Beast

This story was written by Susanne Barbot de Gallos de Villeneuve (retold by Andrew Lang).

When I first looked at this story, I immediately thought of the Disney movie I had watched when I was younger. I was very surprised to find that it was not at all like the animated movie. The story begins with an old, rich father with six sons and six daughters, who all (except one) are extremely selfish. This one is a girl named Beauty. Beauty is always kind to others. When the father loses all his riches and is forced to live in a little house far from town the children get very angry, but Beauty stays as sweet as ever. Then one day the father gets news that he might still be a rich man and he goes into town to see if this is true. Before he goes all his children start demanding extravagant gifts for him to bring back to them, the father then asks Beauty what she would like and she asks for a mere rose. Because of that one rose that Beauty asked for, the exciting adventure begins.