Beauty and the Beast (5)

Beauty and the Beast (5)

  Still he found no one, but when he entered a large hall, there he found a welcoming fire blazing in the fireplace and a table full of food, set for just one person.

  The merchant was soaked to the skin so he went to the fireplace to dry himself off.

  " The master of the house will forgive me for making myself at home, " he thought.  " He will probably arrive soon and I can explain. "

  He waited for a quite a long time, but when still no one had arrived by eleven o'clock he could no longer resist his hunger and helped himself to a chicken which he ate in two bites. Then he drank a couple of glasses of wine which made him very sleepy.

  He left the hall and passed through several huge corridors, all magnificently decorated. At the end of one he found a bedroom in which there was a comfortable bed. The sight of it was too much for the tired man ; without thinking further, he threw himself into it and fell fast asleep.

(5/30)