Her older sisters did not spend much time with her; in fact, they were often quite jealous of their younger sister for she was very beautiful. So much so that they often heard the towns people referring to her as “Beauty” when they ventured into town to buy more dresses and more jewellery.
Although Beauty knew that she was considered by all to be a very beautiful young lady, she did not indulge in such vanity. While the townspeople found her humble nature quite remarkable and incredibly kind, her older sisters only grew more jealous. Beauty felt sad that she burdened her sisters so, but no matter how nicely she treated them, her sisters refused to include her. So Beauty preferred to explore the worlds in her books as she waited for her father to return.
During one of his business trips the merchant’s ship was stuck in a terrible storm. The ship was so heavy with goods from the merchant’s business that it nearly sank. The captain told the merchant that they would have to drop all of the goods into the ocean if they wished to avoid a shipwreck. The merchant—wanting nothing more than to return to his beloved daughters—agreed.
