ONCE upon a time there was a rich merchant, who had three
daughters. They lived in a very fine house in a beautiful city, and had
many servants in grand liveries to wait upon them. All their food was
served on gold and silver dishes, and their gowns were made of the
richest stuff sewn with jewels.
The two eldest were called Marigold and Dressalinda. Never a day
passed but these two went out to some feast or junketing; but Beauty,
the youngest, loved to stay at home and keep her old father company.
Now, it happened that misfortune came upon the merchant. Ships
of his which were sailing the high seas laden with merchandise of great
price, were wrecked, and in one day he found that he was no longer
the richest merchant in the city, but a very poor man.
There was still left to him a little house in the country, and to this,
when everything else had been sold, he retired. His three daughters, of
course, went with him.
Marigold and Dressalinda were very cross to think that they had lost
all their money, and after being so rich and sought after, they must now
live in a miserable cottage.
But Beauty's only thought was to cheer her old father, and while her two sisters sat on wooden chairs and
cried and bewailed themselves, Beauty lighted the fire and got the supper ready, for the merchant was now so
poor that he could not even keep a servant.
And so it went on. The two eldest sisters would do nothing but sulk in comers, while Beauty swept the
floors and washed the dishes, and did her best to make the poor cottage pleasant. They led their sister a
dreadful life too, with their complaints, for not only did they refuse to do anything themselves, but they said
that everything she did was done wrong. But Beauty bore all their unkindness patiently, for her father's sake.
In this way a whole year went by, and then one day a letter came for the merchant.
He hastened to find his daughters, for he was anxious to tell them the good news contained in the letter.
"My dear children," he said, "at last our luck has turned. This letter says that one of the ships supposed to
have been lost has come safely home to port, and if that be so, we need no longer live in poverty. We shall not
be so rich as before, but we shall have enough to keep us in comfort. Get me my traveling-cloak, Beauty. I will
set out at once to claim my ship. And now tell me, girls, what shall I bring you when I come back ?"
"A hundred pounds," said Marigold, without hesitating an instant.
"I want a new silk dress," said Dressalinda, "an apple-green one, sewn with seed-pearls, and green shoes with
red heels, and a necklace of emeralds, and a box of gloves."
"And what shall I bring for you, my Beauty?" asked the father, as his little daughter helped him to put on his
traveling-cloak.
"Oh, bring me a rose," said Beauty hastily.
Her father kissed her fondly, and set out.
"You silly girl," said Marigold," you just want our father to think you are more unselfish than we are--that's
what you want! A rose, indeed!"
"Indeed, sister," said Beauty," that was not the reason. I thought our father would have enough to do in
seeing to the safety of his ship, without being troubled to do shopping for me."
But the sisters were very much offended, and went off to sit in their own room to talk of the fine things they
would have when their father came back.
In the meantime the merchant went his way to the city, full of hope and great plans as to what he would do
with his money.
But when he got there, he found that some one had played a trick on him, and no ship of his had come into
harbor, so he was just as badly off as before.
He spent the whole day looking about to make sure there was no truth in the letter he had received, and it
was beginning to get dusk when he started out, with a sad heart, to make the journey home again. He was tired
and miserable, and he had tasted no food since he left home in the morning.
It was quite dark by the time he came to the great wood through which he had to pass to get to his cottage,
and when he saw a light shining through the trees, he decided not to go to his home that night, but to make his
way towards the light in the wood and ask for food and shelter.
He expected to find a woodcutter's cottage, but what was his surprise, as he drew near to the light, to find