Page 123 - Beauty and the Beast

these qualities combined in one person. It is your
destiny to become a great queen, but I hope that
the pomp of royalty will not destroy your virtues.
As for you, ladies,' she continued, turning to
Beauty's two sisters, 'I know your hearts and the
malice they harbour. Your doom is to become
statues, and under the stone that wraps you
round to retain all your feelings. You will stand at
the door of your sister's palace, and I can visit no
greater punishment upon you than that you shall
be witnesses of her happiness. Only when you
recognise your faults can you return to your
present shape, and I am very much afraid that you
will be statues for ever. Pride, ill-temper, greed,
and laziness can all be corrected, but nothing
short of a miracle will turn a wicked and envious
heart.'

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