Stranica 21 [21]
Beauty and the Beast. 4
she would like some of them to follow her and
keep her company. Instantly two tall young
apes, in court dresses, advanced, and placed
themselves with great gravity beside her, and
two sprightly little monkeys took up her train
waited upon her with all the attention and
respect that officers of a royal household are
accustomed to pay to queens.
Beauty was now, in fact, quite the Queen of
the palace, and all her wishes were gratified ;
but, excepting at supper-time, she was always
alone; the Beast then appeared, and behaved
so agreeably that she liked him more and more.
But to his question, “ Beauty, will you marry
me?” he never could get any other answer than
a shake of the head from her, on which he
always took his leave very sadly.
Although Beauty had everything she could
wish for she was not happy, as she could not
forget her father, and brothers, and sisters. At
last, one evening, she begged so hard of the
Beast to let her go home that he agreed to her
wish, on her promising not to stay away longer
than two months, and gave her a ring, telling
her to place it on her dressing-table whenevel
she desired to go or to return; and then showed
her where to find suitable clothes, as well as
presents to take home. [The poor Beast was more