This is the story of Beauty and the Beast in a shortened version, making it easy for your child to read.
In a land far, far away, there lived a merchant and his beautiful daughter named Beauty. One day, the merchant got lost in the forest and came upon a castle. He went inside and, seeing no one there, decided to spend the night.
The next morning, as the merchant was leaving, he saw some very beautiful roses in the garden. Thinking of Beauty, he picked one. Suddenly, a terrible beast appeared behind him and roared because he had stolen from his garden. The merchant was frightened and explained that he had picked the rose for his daughter, Beauty. The beast said that he would let him go if he promised to send Beauty over to him, so she could stay there. The merchant felt compelled to do as the beast said and agreed to the deal.
At home, he told Beauty the whole story. Beauty reassured her father and all his worries and traveled to the castle. At first, she was afraid of the beast, but within a few days, she realized that the beast was kind and gentle. One day, in the magical mirror that the beast had given Beauty, she saw that her father was very ill. The beast could not bear to see her sorrow and let her go home. Beauty was happy to be home again. She took care of her father, and he quickly recovered.
One day, she thought of the beast and looked into the magical mirror. She saw that the beast had also fallen ill. She traveled back to the castle to meet him. Beauty saw the beast groaning in pain; he was very glad to see her. She held him and sobbed, telling him that she loved him and kissed him gently.
At that moment, the beast transformed into a handsome prince. Beauty was surprised, and the prince explained that her sweet words had broken the spell cast on him by a witch. They soon married and lived happily ever after.
