ILLUSTRATIONS
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY | |
| And there, on a bed the curtains of which were drawnwide, he beheld the loveliest vision he had everseen ([20]) | [Frontispiece] |
| Her head nodded with spite and old age together, as shebent over the cradle ([5]) | 7 |
| They grew until nothing but the tops of the castle towerscould be seen ([15]) | [17] |
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BLUE BEARD | |
| They overran the house without loss of time ([34]) | [35] |
| The unhappy Fatima cried up to her, 'Anne, sisterAnne, do you see any one coming? ([42]) | [41] |
| Then Blue Beard roared out so terribly that he made thewhole house tremble ([44]) | [45] |
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CINDERELLA | |
| She used to creep away to the chimney-corner and seatherself among the cinders ([49]) | [51] |
| Whereupon she instantly desired her partner to lead herto the King and Queen ([61]) | [63] |
| The Prime Minister was kept very busy during the nextfew weeks ([70]) | [71] |
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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST | |
| He had been fasting for more than twenty four hours, andlost no time in falling-to ([80]) | [81] |
| Soon they caught sight of the castle in the distance ([91]) | [91] |
| 'Ah! what a fright you have given me!' she murmured ([126]) | [117] |
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
Once upon a time there lived a King and a Queen, who lacked but one thing on earth to make them entirely happy. The King was young, handsome, and wealthy; the Queen had a nature as good and gentle as her face was beautiful; and they adored one another, having married for love—which among kings and queens is not always the rule. Moreover, they reigned over a kingdom at peace, and their people were devoted to them. What more, then, could they possibly want?
Well, they wanted one thing very badly, and the lack of it grieved them more than words can tell. They had no child. Vows, pilgrimages, all ways were tried; yet for a long while nothing came of it all, and the poor Queen especially was in despair.