“ At the bottom of this hole is a little cave, in which rises the Fountain of Beauty and Health. It is some of this water that I must have; it has wonderful power for those who bathe in it. If you are beautiful, you will always remain so; if you are ugly, you become fair. If you are young, you never grow old, and if you are old, you become young. You see, Charming, that I really could not leave my kingdom without carrying some of this water with me.”
“Princess,” he said, “you are so beautiful that you can never have any need of this water; but I am an unhappy ambassador whose death you desire. ”

“ But one thing gave her great concern: every night, before he left her, the beast asked her to become his wife. One night she said to him: “Beast, you make me unhappy, for I can only offer you friendship. I cannot love you.”
He begged her at least to promise never to leave him; but Beauty had seen in the glass that day that her father was sick with grief at the loss of her. Her sisters were married and her brothers had gone into the army, so he was all alone. She had so great a longing to see him that she told the beast that she should die if he refused her leave. ”

“ That I may climb without a stair,”
she let the hair down. The Prince climbed up, but instead of his beloved Rapunzel he found the old witch, who looked at him with angry, wicked eyes, and cried mockingly, “Aha! you thought to fetch your ladylove, but the pretty bird has flown, and the song is still; the cat caught it, and will scratch out your eyes too. Rapunzel is lost to you—you will never see her again.”
The Prince was beside himself with grief, and in his despair he jumped right down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes out. ”

“ When I refused he uttered most terrible threats that he would lay waste my kingdom. But how could I accept him? He is a giant, taller than a tower, and thinks no more of eating a man than a monkey does of eating chestnuts. He talks so loud that those who are near him become deaf. I told him I did not wish to marry, but he has never ceased to persecute me and to kill my subjects. So, before I listen to your proposal, you must kill him and bring me his head.”
Charming was somewhat startled by this proposal, but he answered: “Very well, Princess Goldilocks, I will fight this Galifron. ”

“ Thereupon in came her godmother, who, touching Cinderella’s clothes with her wand, made them become more magnificent than those which she had worn before.
Now her sisters recognized her as the beautiful stranger whom they had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet [41] and asked her forgiveness for all the ill treatment she had received from them. Cinderella raised them up and, embracing them, said that she forgave them with all her heart, and begged them to love her always. ”

“ Good night, merchant. Good night, Beauty.”
“Good night, Beast,” she answered, and the monster withdrew.
Again the merchant tried to persuade Beauty to go back without him, but she would not hear to it. They went to bed, thinking they should not close their eyes all [99] night; but as soon as they lay down they fell fast asleep. Beauty dreamed that a stately and beautiful lady came to her, and said: “I am very much pleased, dear Beauty, with the goodness you have shown in giving yourself to save your father. Do not be afraid; you shall be rewarded. Only do not trust to appearances.” ”

“ One day when he knew that the King was intending to take the air along the riverside with his daughter, who was the most beautiful Princess in the world, he went to his master and said: “If you will follow my advice, your fortune is made. You have only to go and bathe in the river, just in the place I shall show you, and leave the rest to me.”
The Marquis of Carabas did what the cat advised, without knowing what would be the good of doing so. While he was bathing, the King passed by, and the cat began to cry out with all his might: “Help! help! my Lord Marquis of Carabas is drowning!” ”

“ When the woman saw how pretty they were she began to weep, and said to them: “Alas, poor children, you do not know what kind of a place you have come to! Do you know that this house belongs to a cruel ogre who eats up little children?”
“Alas! dear madam,” answered Hop-o’-my-Thumb, who was trembling in every limb, as [127] were his brothers, too, “what shall we do? The wolves of the forest will surely devour us if you refuse us shelter here, and so we would rather the gentleman should eat us. Perhaps he will have pity on us if you are so kind as to entreat him for us.” ”

“ The only ones who did not stir from their places were the Tin Soldier and the Lady Dancer. She still stood on tiptoe with outstretched arms, and he was just as persevering on his one leg; he never once turned his eyes away from her. [111]
Twelve o’clock struck—crash! up sprang the lid of the snuffbox. There was no snuff in it, but a little black goblin. You see it was not a real snuffbox but a Jack-in-the-box.
“Tin soldier,” said the Goblin, “keep thine eyes to thyself. Don’t stare at what does not concern thee!” ”

“ When the Princess saw her ring brought back to her unhurt, she was so astonished that she thought she must be dreaming.
“Surely, Sir Charming,” she said, “you must be the favorite of some fairy, or you could never have found it.”
“Madam,” he replied, “I know no fairy, but I had a great desire to obey your wishes.”
“Then, since you are so willing,” said she, “you must do me another service; otherwise [164] I will never marry. Not far from here there is a Prince called Galifron, who is determined to marry me. ”

“ When her father was out of sight poor Beauty could not help crying, but she had made up her mind to be brave, and she proceeded to explore the various rooms of the palace. What was her surprise when she came to a door over which was written, “BEAUTY’S ROOM.” She opened it in haste, and found a magnificently furnished room; but what delighted her most was a large library, a harpsichord, and several music books. She concluded that all this would [100] not be provided for her if she had only a day to live, and she took courage. ”

“ After supper they heard a great noise, and the merchant began to bid his child a sad farewell. In a moment the beast entered. Beauty was terrified at the frightful form, but she tried not to show her fear. ”

“ They told her Yes, but that she had hurried away as the clock struck twelve, and in such great haste that she had dropped one of her little glass slippers, the prettiest in the world. They told, too, how the Prince had picked it up, and how he had done nothing but look at it all the rest of the evening, and agreed that he was undoubtedly very much in love with the beautiful owner of the little slipper. ”

“ The Princess showed no sign of taking back her request, so Charming set out with his little dog, Frolic, for the Grotto of Darkness. Every one he met on the way said: “What a pity to see so handsome a youth [170] throwing away his life so recklessly! He is going to the grotto alone; but if he had a hundred men with him he could never succeed. Why does the Princess demand such impossible things?” ”

“ The poor miller’s daughter sat there, and for the life of her could not think what to do. She had not the least idea how to turn straw into gold, and she became more and more unhappy, till at last she began to cry. Then all at once the door opened, and in came a tiny little man and said to her, “Good evening, Mistress Miller; why are you crying so bitterly?” ”

“ He then went home to his father’s house, where he was welcomed with great joy. As the great fame of his boots had been talked of at court by this time, the King sent for him, and employed him on the greatest affairs of state; so that he became one of the richest men in the kingdom.
And now let us see what became of the ogre. He slept so soundly that he never knew that his boots were gone; but he fell from the corner of the rock where Hop-o’-my-Thumb and his brothers had left him, and bruised himself so badly from head to foot that he could not stir. ”

“ In a neighboring country there lived a young King who was not married, and who was very handsome and very rich. When he heard all that was said about fair Goldilocks, before he had ever seen her, he fell so deeply in love with her that he could neither eat nor drink for thinking of her. He determined to send an ambassador to ask for her hand in marriage. He had a splendid coach made for his ambassador, and giving him more than a hundred horses and a hundred servants, he charged him well to bring the Princess back with him. ”

“ The sisters were so jealous at seeing Beauty so magnificently dressed, and hearing how kind the beast was to her, that they laid a plan to detain her longer than the week she had intended to stay, in hopes that this might make the beast angry, so that he would devour her. Accordingly, when the week was over, they affected such grief at her departure that Beauty was touched by their affection and agreed to stay longer. ”

“ When their father and mother saw them busy at their work, they slipped away from them little by little, and then made their escape all at once by a winding bypath.
When the children found that they were alone they began to cry bitterly. Hop-o’-my-Thumb let them cry on, knowing very well how he could get home again; for, as he came, he had dropped the little white pebbles he had in his pockets all along the way. Then he said to them, “Do not be afraid, my brothers; father and mother have left us here, but I will lead you home again,—only follow me.” ”

“ When he got back to his room he went to bed without eating any supper, and his little dog, who was called Frolic, would not eat any either, but came and lay down beside him. All night long Charming tossed back and forth sighing.
“How am I to find a ring that fell into the river a month ago?” he said. “It is useless to try. She has chosen to set me a task which she knows will be impossible.” And he sighed again. [162]
Frolic heard him and said: “My dear master, do not despair; you are always lucky, you know, and, besides, you are too good not to be happy. ”

“ When the day came Beauty got ready to set out with her father for the home of the beast. The horse took the direct road to the palace, and they arrived there all too soon. As they approached they found the windows brilliantly lighted as before. The horse went at once to the stable of his own accord, and the merchant and his daughter went into the great hall, where they found [98] a table loaded with every dainty and set with two plates. The merchant had no heart to eat, but Beauty, trying to appear cheerful, sat down and served both him and herself. ”

“ He gave no reason for doing so, but no [117] doubt the Goblin in the snuffbox had something to do with it.
The Tin Soldier stood now in a blaze of red light. The heat he felt was terrible: but whether it proceeded from the fire, or from the love in his heart, he did not know. He saw that the colors were quite gone from his uniform; but whether that happened on his journey, or had been caused by grief, no one could say. He looked at the little Lady, she looked at him, and he felt himself melting; still he stood firm, with his bayonet on his shoulder. ”

“ There came now a very bad year, and the famine was so great that these poor people felt obliged to get rid of their children. One evening, when the children had gone to bed and the fagot-maker was sitting with his wife at the fire, he said to her, with his heart ready to burst with grief: “You see plainly that we can no longer give our children food, and I cannot bear to see them die of hunger before my eyes. I am resolved to lose them in the forest to-morrow. ”

“ When her work was over she would read, or play on the harpsichord, or sing as she sat at her spinning wheel.
Her two sisters did not know what to do with themselves. They would get up at ten, [88] and idle away the whole day, fretting for the loss of their fine clothes and gay parties. “Do but see that girl!” they would say to one another. “What stupid, low tastes she has to be contented with this kind of life!” But their father thought differently, and loved his youngest daughter more than ever. ”

“ The cat was so terrified at the sight of a lion so near him that he sprang away, and climbed up on the roof, but not without much difficulty and danger, as his boots were of no use at all for walking upon tiles. A little while after, when he saw that the ogre had quitted the form of a lion, he came down, and owned that he had been a good deal frightened.
“I have been further informed (but I know not how to believe it) ,” said the cat, “that you have also the power of taking the form of the smallest animals,—for example, that you can change yourself into a rat or a mouse ”

“ She scarcely dared move in such clothes as these, and the guards, who never allowed such countrified, ragged-looking people within the palace gates, pushed her about with the greatest rudeness. Peronella, who was watching her, now said: “I see it is quite dreadful to you not to be queen, and it is still more so to me to be one. ”

“ Beauty did not particularly desire a rose, but she did not wish to seem to blame her sisters by saying she did not want anything.
The merchant set off on his journey, but when he reached the port he was obliged to go to law about the cargo, and it ended in his returning home as poor as he came. He [90] was within thirty miles of home when, in the middle of a large forest, he was overtaken by a heavy snowstorm. He lost his way, and was beginning to fear he should die of hunger and cold, when all of a sudden he saw a light at the end of a long avenue of trees. ”