Page 17 - Beauty and the Beast

of months she grew stronger, and her health was
improved by the work. When she had leisure she
read, or played the harpsichord, or sang at her
spinning-wheel.
Her two sisters, on the other hand, were bored
to death; they did not get up till ten o'clock in the
morning, and they idled about all day. Their only
diversion was to bemoan the beautiful clothes they
used to wear and the company they used to keep.
"Look at our little sister," they would say to each
other; "her tastes are so low and her mind so
stupid that she is quite content with this miserable
state of affairs."
The good merchant did not share the opinion of
his two daughters, for he knew that Beauty was
more fitted to shine in company than her sisters.
He was greatly impressed by the girl's good
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