Once upon a time, there was a merchant and his three daughters.
The youngest daughter, Bell, was known for her beauty and kindness.
One day, the father had to go to a nearby town on business.
The eldest daughter asked him,
"Papa, please buy me a moon-colored dress."
The second daughter asked him,
"Papa, buy me a sun-colored dress."
Bell, however, didn't ask for anything, so the father asked her many times,
"What would you like, Bell?"
Then modestly, Bell answered, "Well....then...it is a rose I want."
After he finished his business, he bought dresses for his first two daughters.
However, nowhere could he find a rose for Bell.
What was worse, he had gotten lost on his way home.
While he was at a loss, he found a light in the distance.
As he headed toward the light, he came to a beautiful palace.
He called out, "Is anybody here?"
No matter how many times he asked, no one appeared from the palace.
He looked around and found beautiful roses in the garden.
"What beautiful roses! I'll take one of them for Bell."
The father reached for one of the red roses and snapped off a stem.
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly, with a dreadful loud voice,
a man with a very scary beast face appeared in front of the father.
"You stole a rose that is precious to me.
I cannot forgive you for this!
Bring me one of your daughters here. Otherwise, you shall be a dead man!"
The beast spat out and disappeared at once.
The father was trembling with fear while finding his way back home.
After he managed to return,
the father told his daughters the story of the Beast he had met.
Bell said to him,
""Oh, I'm so sorry, Papa. I should not have asked you for a rose.
Let me go to the Beast's palace.""
“No, Bell! I can’t let you do that!”
""I insist. I will go.""
Bell was so determined that the father reluctantly took Bell to the palace.
As soon as they arrived to the palace, the Beast came out and said to the father,
"I'll take care of your daughter. You will go home and never return!"
The Beast sent the father back home.
Bell was frightened and she was trembling, so the Beast said to her in a very gentle voice.
"Don't be afraid. This palace is now yours.
Everything you need, from dresses to food, will all be at your disposal.
Please make yourself at home and enjoy the life here."
Once in a while, the Beast came down to have meals with Bell.
She was happy to know that the Beast was not so scary after all,
but indeed very kind.
Her fear gradually faded as time went by.
One day, the Beast gave Bell a magic mirror.
With it, she could see things far away.
When she looked in the mirror to see her family, she was shocked to see her father ill in bed.
Her father was so worried about Bell that he had fallen ill.
"Please let me go home to see my sick father!" asked Bell to the Beast.
The Beast hesitated at first, but unwillingly accepted her request.
"Well, you can go,
but swear that you will come back here without fail."
When Bell returned home, her father was very delighted.
Soon he recovered and got well again.
Bell felt relieved and tried to return to the palace.
Her sisters, however, stopped her from leaving.
Bell could not help but stay longer.
One night, she dreamt a nightmare that the Beast was dying in grief and agony.
"Oh, dear! I must leave now!"
She ran frantically and finally reached the palace.
She found the Beast lying on the ground breathing very feebly.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!
I should have come back here sooner! Please don't die. I am sorry..."
Tears streamed down Bell's cheeks.
The moment her tears fell on the Beast’s face, he magically turned into a handsome prince.
""Thank you, Bell. You broke the spell that an evil witch had placed on me.
The spell could be broken only by the tears of a kind soul
who really cared for me...
Bell, will you marry me, please?""
""Yes, of course."" answered Bell happily.
Soon Bell and the prince got married and lived happily ever after.