er from enjoying her good fortune.

"Let us keep her beyond the week that the Beast has allowed her," they
said; "then, doubtless, he will be so angry that he will kill her."

So they pretended to be very fond of Beauty, and when the time came for
her return, they overwhelmed her with tears and caresses, begging her
not to leave them, and to stay at least one more day with them. Beauty
was distressed at their grief, and at last she consented to stay just
one more day; though her heart misgave her sorely when she thought of
the poor Beast.

That night, as she lay in bed, she had a dream. She dreamt that she saw
the Beast dying of sorrow at her forgetfulness; and so real did it seem
that she woke up in an agony of dismay.

[Illustration]

"How could I have been so cruel and ungrateful," she cried. "I promised
faithfully that I would return at the end of the week. What will he
think of me for breaking my promise!"

Hastily rising from bed, she searched for the ring the Beast had given
her. Then putting it on her little finger she wished to be at the Palace
of the Beast again. In a moment she found herself there; and quickly
putting on her clothes she hurried out to look for the Beast. She
searched through room after room; but nowhere could she find him. At
last she ran out into the garden; and there, on a plot of grass, where
he and she had often sat together, she found him lying as if dead upon
the ground.

With a bitter cry she sank on her knees beside the poor Beast.

"Oh, Beast; my dear, dear Beast!" she cried. "How could I have been so
cruel and wicked and unkind? He has died of sorrow as he said he would!"
And the tears fell down from her eyes as she spoke. Overcome with grief
and remorse, she stooped down and tenderly kissed the ugly Beast.

In a moment there was a sudden noise, and Beauty was startled to find
that the ugly Beast had vanished. The Beast was a beast no longer, but a
handsome Prince, who knelt at her feet, thanking her for having broken
his enchantment.

"A wicked fairy," he said, "condemned me to keep the form of a beast
until a beautiful maiden should forget my ugliness and kiss me. You, by
your love and tenderness, have broken the spell and released me from my
horrible disguise. Now, thanks to you, I can take my proper form again."
And then he begged Beauty to become his bride.

So Beauty married the Prince who had been a Beast, and they lived
together in the castle and ruled over the