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I . The Merchant and His Children Once upon a time there was a very rich merchant who lived in a big city . A merchant is a man who buys and sells goods . He had six children : three sons and three daughters . He was a wise man , so he paid for the best teachers for them . All three girls were very pretty , but the youngest was the loveliest of all . When she was a little girl , people called her “ Little Beauty ” . When she grew up , everyone still called her Beauty . Her two sisters did not like this at all . They were very jealous of her . Beauty was not only the prettiest of the three . She was also the kindest . The two older girls were very proud , because their father was rich . They did not want to visit the daughters of other merchants . They only wanted to spend time with lords and ladies . Every day they went to balls , parties and the theatre . And they laughed at their little sister , because she stayed at home and read good books . Many rich merchants wanted to marry the two older sisters . But the sisters always said no . “ We will only marry a duke , ” they said , “ or at least a lord . ” Young men asked Beauty to marry them too . She thanked them politely . “ I am still too young , ” she told them . “ I want to stay with my father for a few more years . ” Then one day , quite suddenly , the merchant lost all his money . He had nothing left except a small house in the country , far away from the city . With tears in his eyes , he called his children to him . “ We have lost everything , ” he said . “ We must go and live in the country . We will have to work there for our bread . ” The two older daughters said that they were not going to leave the city . “ Lots of men want to marry us , ” they said . “ They love us , not our money . ” But they were wrong . Now that the sisters were poor , those men soon forgot about them . Nobody felt sorry for the two sisters , because nobody liked their pride . “ It serves them right , ” people said . “ Let them play at being fine ladies with the cows and the chickens . ” But everyone felt sorry for Beauty . “ Poor Beauty ! ” they said . “ She is so sweet and so kind . She always speaks gently to poor people . ” Some gentlemen still wanted to marry her , even now , when she did not have a penny . But she said no to them too . “ I cannot leave my father now , ” she explained . “ I am going with him to the country . I want to help him and look after him . ” At first Beauty was very sad about the lost fortune . But soon she said to herself , “ Crying will not help . I must learn to be happy without money . ”
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