ds in a room farther on, parrots and cockatoos that
could talk, and they greeted Beauty by name; indeed, she found them so
entertaining that she took one or two back to her room, and they talked to
her while she was at supper; after which the Beast paid her his usual
visit, and asked the same questions as before, and then with a gruff
"good-night" he took his departure, and Beauty went to bed to dream of her
mysterious Prince. The days passed swiftly in different amusements, and
after a while Beauty found out another strange thing in the palace, which
often pleased her when she was tired of being alone. There was one room
which she had not noticed particularly; it was empty, except that under
each of the windows stood a very comfortable chair; and the first time she
had looked out of the window it had seemed to her that a black curtain
prevented her from seeing anything outside. But the second time she went
into the room, happening to be tired, she sat down in one of the chairs,
when instantly the curtain was rolled aside, and a most amusing pantomime
was acted before her; there were dances and colored lights, and music, and
pretty dresses, and it was all so gay that Beauty was in ecstacies. After
that she tried the other seven windows in turn, and there was some new and
surprising entertainment to be seen from each of them, so that Beauty
never could feel lonely any more. Every evening after supper the Beast
came to see her, and always before saying good-night asked her in his
terrible voice:

"Beauty, will you marry me?"

And it seemed to Beauty, now she understood him better, that when she
said, "No, Beast," he went away quite sad. But her happy dreams of the
handsome young Prince soon made her forget the poor Beast, and the only
thing that at all disturbed her was to be constantly told to distrust
appearances, to let her heart guide her, and not her eyes, and many other
equally perplexing things, which, consider as she would, she could not
understand.

So everything went on for a long time, until at last, happy as she was,
Beauty began to long for the sight of her father and her brothers and
sisters; and one night, seeing her look very sad, the Beast asked her what
was the matter. Beauty had quite ceased to be afraid of him. Now she knew
that he was really gentle in spite of his ferocious looks and his dreadful
voice. So she answered that she was longing to see her home once more.
Upon hearing this the Beast seeme