Enchanted Tales

Song Enchanted Tales
Artist Audrey Hepburn
Album Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales

Lyrics

[00:03.75] New Millennium Audio presents
[00:07.74] Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted tales
[00:15.43] I'm an old woman now
[00:17.86] So old that all these past gets mixed up in my mind with what is now.
[00:24.67] When I remember my childhood, what I remember most is him.
[00:31.56] No memory is without Maurice Ravel, that small
[00:36.89] And elegant man who was to me the greatest composer who ever lived.
[00:43.82] In those years between 1906 and 1908,
[00:48.07] He would've come often to la Grand Gate, our country house near Paris, to visit my parents.
[00:55.21] One day he came, very excited.
[00:57.29] "I had written a piano piece, and I think you would like to meet me", he said..
[01:02.16] "It's called Ma mère l'Oye. My Mother Goose"
[01:07.85] It was old stories I love best told in music.
[01:12.73] And then he showed me the front page, it was dedicated to my brother and to me.
[01:20.95] And now I sit, an old woman, outside in the orange late summer morning.
[01:27.85] The music in my mind is starting to play.
[01:30.65] I think of my wonderful Monsieur Ravel.
[01:34.75] I've heard her live in a castle. It was covered with roses”; Monsieur Ravel says to me.
[01:40.51] "Ah! The gasp of the sleeping princess", I cried.
[01:43.85] "It is perhaps my favorite story of all! Oh, tell it to me please!"
[01:50.11] He smiles, draws me onto his lap and begins the story of the Sleeping Princess.
[01:57.99] Once upon a time, a magic time, in a fair far green country, lived the King and Queen.
[02:08.88] They've longed to have a child.
[02:10.71] And finally on one bright morning in June, a daughter was born to them.
[02:15.58] "We must give her the grandest christening that ever was", the Queen said,
[02:20.03] "We must even use the golden plates."
[02:22.88] And the King, who did not agree to much she suggested, agreed to this.
[02:29.44] Everyone in the land, all the town's people were invited to the christening.
[02:35.97] But the most special guest of all were the six good fairies of the kingdom,
[02:41.00] The godmothers of the little Princess.
[02:45.00] One by one, these fairies passed by the royal cradle
[02:49.14] And gave the baby a blessing and a gift.
[02:53.19] One promised the princess beauty; One a bright mind;
[02:58.57] One an even brighter spirit; One a voice of charm; One a loving heart.
[03:06.53] But just as the last fairy was about to present her gift,
[03:11.91] A quick angry draft suddenly blew the door open.
[03:15.21] "Why? It's just the wind"，laughed the king.
[03:19.45] But it wasn't wind. It was a little old woman, thin as wind perhaps.
[03:26.72] But (she was) so powerful the door the guest shrank back in fear of her.????
[03:31.47] "Melusine", someone whispered:" Melusine!"
[03:36.15] The chocked cry went around.
[03:38.26] Melusine was an evil fairy.
[03:43.26] She had disappeared from the kingdom many years before.
[03:46.42] And no one knew what had become of her.
[03:49.00] The King, hiding his surprise and fear,
[03:52.64] Invited her in and hastily made a place for her at the high table.
[03:58.00] But he couldn't give her one of the golden plates.
[04:00.66] But it was simply not enough.
[04:02.56] Melusine looked at the china plate given her instead,
[04:05.92] And she smiled, a very thin and awful smile.
[04:14.20] Hobbling up to the baby's cradle,
[04:16.54] She touched the child's cheek with her papery hand.
[04:21.67] "I too have a gift for you, my precious" the fairy whispered:" And here it is:
[04:30.93] One day you will prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and died!"
[04:38.96] The guests shrank back screaming.
[04:41.21] The Queen fainted.
[04:43.23] Only the last of the six fairies had come.
[04:47.65] She came forward slowly and faced Melusine.
[04:52.00] "I have not yet given my blessing to the princess", she said softly.
[04:57.05] "Alas. I cannot undo the fairy curse, but I can surely soften it.
[05:04.00] The princess will indeed prick her finger on a spindle, but she will not die.
[05:10.23] She will only sleep for a hundred years until a prince shall come and wake her."
[05:16.24] 17 years pasted, and the Princess was now a young woman.
[05:24.00] She was beautiful, with little golden hair and flecked green eyes.
[05:30.49] She was honest and courageous, curious, tender, marry, and a little clumsy.
[05:38.91] Her favorite game was to explore the huge castle
[05:43.03] And make up stories with the queer things she found there.
[05:48.43] One morning in May, the Princess was exploring a wing she had not been in before,
[05:53.25] And she came up on a funny little room,
[05:58.14] Inside sat an old woman spinning.
[06:00.76] The Princess was enchanted by the strange site.
[06:04.98] "What are you doing? Oh do let me try!"
[06:07.12] She cried and rush forward.
[06:09.15] In an instant her finger pricked the spindle.
[06:11.50] She gave a scream and saint lifeless on the floor.
[06:17.63] The old woman smiled, the cold thin smile of the fairy Mellusine, and melted into icy wind.
[06:28.42] The moment the Princess touched the spindle and fell into a sleep,
[06:33.96] A strange thing began to happen-the whole palace began to sleep as well.
[06:41.99] The king was in the throne room making a new law,
[06:46.53] Nodded off, still holding his quill pen;
[06:50.40] The Queen, having her hair brushed by her lady in waiting,
[06:54.00] Fell asleep at the dressing table;
[06:57.00] The lady in waiting fell asleep in mid brush stroke;
[07:01.39] And on and on, until finally the whole palace was still, heavy, and filled with dreamers.
[07:10.52] And then darkness came to those who dreamed.
[07:14.94] For up, up. Back away of green grew the brambles, climbing and folding huge thorns raised.
[07:25.41] Up the vines grew, protectively fiercely,
[07:29.00] Until finally the whole castle was suckled in her arms.
[07:35.80] And then, even the brambles slept too.
[07:40.54] They slept for a hundred years,
[07:44.35] Slept through wars, and warm harvests, and marriages, and new fashions,
[07:50.97] Slept through the crown of the kingdom passing to a new family,
[07:54.90] Slept through the birth of a new little prince.
[07:59.69] The prince's name is not important.
[08:02.68] What is important about him is his curiosity.
[08:07.14] From the time the Prince was tiny,
[08:09.95] He has wondered and wondered about the huge castle in the kingdom,
[08:14.32] The one that was all covered with brambles.
[08:17.28] "Who lives there?" he asked.
[08:19.67] And when he was told the legend of the Sleeping Princess, he had smiled.
[08:24.46] "Ah", he said: “I should be the one to awaken her."
[08:28.54] But everyone laughed at him because he was only a tiny child,
[08:33.08] And his thumb wasn't even as big as one of the brambles that guarded the castle.
[08:38.28] But time passed, and one day the Prince was no longer a child,
[08:44.89] He had grown into a man, well-favored, and well-liked,
[08:49.68] But with a certain sadness always about him.
[08:54.13] The sadness was the strongest when he rode into the woods,
[08:57.30] And stood at the gates of that mysterious castle,
[09:01.66] Thinking of the Princess who lay inside.
[09:05.48] Many ladies in the kingdom were in love with the Prince,
[09:09.00] But he could not return their love,
[09:11.54] For he had a strange image always before his eyes,
[09:15.41] The image of a bright-face child,
[09:17.91] Whose hair was tangled yellow, and whose eyes were flecked with green.
[09:24.72] On his 21st birthday, the prince left the celebration,
[09:29.11] And rode as usual to the bramble covered castle.
[09:33.03] As he stood looking, the longing filled him so much, he began to weep.
[09:39.41] "Let the bramble tear me apart", he thought.
[09:42.82] "If I must die, let me die trying to find the princess."
[09:49.19] The Prince climbed the gate, rusted by years of disuse,
[09:53.79] And as he took his first step into the garden, something wonderful happened-
[10:00.71] The thorns, would have been so angry and sharp only a moment before,
[10:05.83] melted into piles of rose petals at his feet.
[10:10.62] And the Prince rushed into the palace, thus he saw everywhere-
[10:15.74] Gloomy spider webs and piles of sleeping people.
[10:19.59] He run upstairs and searched the whole castle,
[10:22.60] And there, in the little backroom,
[10:25.65] He found his princess, still lying beside the spinning wheel.
[10:31.29] He smiled when he saw her,
[10:32.95] For this was the girl who had lived in his mind all these years.
[10:39.18] He bend forward and kissed her.
[10:41.75] And when he draw back, a pair of marry tender flecked green eyes were looking at him.
[10:49.88] "I was just dreaming about you", the Princess said.
[10:52.00] Down in the hallway bellow, the king yawned and stretched,
[10:58.02] "Huh...I must have dozed off", he said: “I have a law to finish."
[11:03.66] "Ouch!" the Queen said, as the hair maid combing her hair pulled to sharply on a curl.
[11:09.01] The whole palace was stirring now, all wondering: amazed!
[11:16.29] "Are you ready, Princess?" the Prince asked.
[11:21.33] "Yes" she said.
[11:22.79] And hand in hand, they slowly and started down the long curving staircase.
[11:35.74][music]
[13:04.17] I'm remembering a winter day.
[13:08.59] I gazed into the fire,
[13:11.07] And there, the pictures of the past are dancing.
[13:15.53] It is December, right before Christmas.
[13:19.25] Monsieur Ravel comes to visit us.
[13:22.05] He has dressed in a new dark green topcoat.
[13:26.02] And his arms are full of gifts.
[13:28.44] There're something dull in adult for my parents,
[13:32.81] New music for my brother,
[13:35.90] And for me, the most wonderful little man made out of tin.
[13:41.35] When he's wound up, he can walk all around the table.
[13:44.90] Monsieur Ravel loves these mechanical marvels.
[13:48.32] He laughs at the little tin man as loud as my own.
[13:52.79] "I know a story about a boy who was this tiny", he says to me.
[13:58.78] "Oh he was not made out of tin, he was as real as you or I!"
[14:04.09] So I jump onto his lap and beg him to tell me the story of Tom Thumb.
[14:11.90] Once upon a time, deep in a forest, there lived a woodcutter and his wife.
[14:18.37] They had seven children, all red-hair boys.
[14:22.99] When business was going well,
[14:25.41] The wood cutter was delighted with his large family.
[14:28.82] But when things were going poorly, he was not so happy.
[14:33.55] "There're too many bellies to feed", he would complain.
[14:37.11] "Too many feet to keep shod;
[14:39.51] Too many backs to covered with clothing;
[14:42.30] And not enough money to do it."
[14:46.39] One cold winter, things became unbearable.
[14:50.89] Meals got plainer and leaner,
[14:54.05] Clothes got smaller and more patched,
[14:57.25] And the wood cutter got more and more miserable.
[15:02.90] "Wife", he said one night: “I cannot sit by and watch my sons starve.
[15:09.82] Tomorrow, when I take them out into the forest,
[15:13.21] I would leave them there.
[15:15.48] Perhaps a wealthy merchant will find them
[15:18.34] And provide a better home."
[15:20.87] "Huh!" the wife wept and refused to go along the plan at first,
[15:26.44] But finally she too gave in.
[15:29.92] The woodcutter went to sleep,
[15:32.13] Not feeling at all happy with himself,
[15:34.93] But believing that he was doing the only thing he could.
[15:40.03] What he did not know
[15:41.99] Was that one of the sons had overheard every word he said.
[15:46.92] This was the youngest son-Tom.
[15:49.82] Now everyone, including the woodcutter, thought Tom was foolish,
[15:54.57] Simply because he never spoke.
[15:56.94] And everyone also thought Tom was a weakling,
[16:00.12] Simply because he was small.
[16:02.71] When he was born, in fact
[16:04.14] Tom had been no bigger than a man's thumb,
[16:07.05] And so everyone called him Tom Thumb.
[16:12.66] When Tom heard his father's plans,
[16:15.23] He realized he had to save his brothers and himself.
[16:19.69] He sneaked out of the house,
[16:21.84] And went to the stream that lays beside it.
[16:26.09] In the moonlight,
[16:27.40] The white stones on the bank
[16:29.39] Glittered like a treasure chest full of undersea jewels.
[16:34.80] Tom filled his pockets with stones and returned to bed.
[16:38.52] The next morning, the woodcutter took his seven sons deep into the forest.
[16:45.21] Every few feet, Tom took a pebble out of his pocket,
[16:49.34] In the daytime they look like ordinary brown rocks,
[16:52.51] And dropped it on the ground.
[16:54.54] At noon, the woodcutter gave each boy a piece of bread and left them.
[16:59.80] "For a while", he said.
[17:02.33] None of the brothers except Tom noticed him weeping as he said it.
[17:07.47] The little while turned into hours,
[17:12.06] And soon it was night.
[17:14.35] The brothers came to realize that their father was not coming back,
[17:18.54] And they began to weep.
[17:20.74] Tom waited politely until they were finished,
[17:23.86] and then he said: “Don’t cry, I will save you."
[17:29.38] His brothers had never heard Tom speak before,
[17:32.75] And they were amazed!
[17:35.49] Tom pointed proudly to the stones he had dropped.
[17:38.75] In the moonlight, they shone like a path of fallen stars.
[17:43.72] He and his brothers followed the path and soon they were back home!
[17:47.65] The woodcutter, who had feel terribly guilty at what he had done, was glad to see them.
[17:53.82] And his wife nearly fainted with joy.
[17:58.00] "No matter how poor we become", the woodcutter said,
[18:01.71] "We will all stay together. I had learned my lesson."
[18:06.45] But unfortunately, he forget again soon afterwards.
[18:14.57] February came,
[18:16.15] The iciest, hungriest, most wolf-like February that had ever been.
[18:24.96] There was no work, no money, no food.
[18:30.16] "I can't stand seeing the children go hungry", the woodcutter roared.
[18:35.33] "Tomorrow I'm taking the children out and leaving them in the forest."
[18:40.03] Again his wife pleaded and wept;
[18:43.64] Again he was stubborn;
[18:46.27] And Again, little Tom heard every word.
[18:51.35] Tom went outside in the freezing night,
[18:53.99] Looking for more stones,
[18:56.02] But the snow had fall so heavily that stoned were buried beneath it,
[19:00.47] And he could not find even one.
[19:04.04] So he creeped back to the house, not knowing what he was going to do.
[19:12.16] The next morning, the mother gave the children each a slice of bread for breakfast.
[19:18.29] Tom put his in his pocket.
[19:20.78] When the father took the boys out into the forest,
[19:23.97] Tom crushed his bread in his hands,
[19:27.05] And every few feet, he threw down a few crumbs.
[19:31.42] Again the father let the children deep into the woods;
[19:35.46] Again he said he would return in a little while;
[19:39.29] And again he brushed away tears as he said it.
[19:44.01] When night fell, and no father came,
[19:47.71] The boys all began to cry.
[19:50.91] Except Tom.
[19:52.61] "Don't be frightened", he said.
[19:54.34] "I will show you the way back."
[19:57.13] He looked for the trail of bread crumbs,
[19:59.37] But it was no longer there!
[20:01.90] The birds in the forest had pounced on the crumbs, and had eaten them, everyone!
[20:09.35] So the seven children had to find their own way home.
[20:13.58] They walked and they walked, through the heavy freezing night.
[20:19.81] Suddenly Tom cried: “I see a light!"
[20:23.51] Yes, it was a small flickering light through the trees!
[20:28.40] The boys rushed forward and found themselves with the door of a huge dark house.
[20:34.19] They knocked, and the door was open by a woman.
[20:37.84] She had once been pretty,
[20:40.50] But fear had chased all her good-looks away.
[20:45.31] "Oh! Children! You must go!" she said.
[20:48.37] "You've come to the house of a terrible ogre!
[20:51.47] A monster who eats little boys!"
[20:55.51] Tom sighed:" Madam, we have just come from a forest,
[21:01.06] Which is full of wolves who also eats little boys.
[21:05.50] I would rather take my chances with the ogre."
[21:09.18] The ogre's wife, for that was who she was, sighed.
[21:15.20] "My husband is out for a little while", she said,
[21:17.95] "Come inside and at least warm yourselves before the fire."
[21:22.13] The seven boys ran inside.
[21:24.14] And what a joy it was to rest exhausted legs in the huge castle,
[21:29.24] And warm the chilly back to the big fire.
[21:31.84] The ogre's wife warned them to stay awake,
[21:35.65] But they're tired of spoke in a louder voice, and soon they were fast asleep.
[21:41.79] Suddenly, there was a huge wind and a huge earthquake,
[21:46.23] And each little boy found themselves caught up in a giant's fist,
[21:50.84] And gazing into a giant glaring eye.
[21:55.12] The ogre had returned.
[21:59.51] "What is this!" the ogre roared, “human boys?
[22:05.35] What a good woman you are, wife!
[22:07.93] You have caught me a fine supper."
[22:11.46] The wife was very frightened, but she pretended to go along with the ogre's idea.
[22:17.51] "Thank you, husband", she said, “but I meant these boys to be for your breakfast.
[22:22.62] As you can see, they are too thin and frozen for you to enjoy now.
[22:27.64] I thought that if they were given a good dinner and a good night sleep,
[22:32.03] They will be delicious with your pancakes tomorrow.
[22:36.06] The giant was disappointed, but he agreed,
[22:39.87] Because his wife was really an excellent cook,
[22:42.57] And she knew best about these things.
[22:45.46] The ogre's wife winked at Tom, and he winked back.
[22:49.24] She gave the boys an excellent dinner and Put them to bed.
[22:53.21] After a sleep of several hours, Tom woke and nudged his brothers.
[22:58.76] "Let's go", he said.
[23:00.64] And the seven children escaped.
[23:03.36] The ogre was light sleeper, however.
[23:05.43] And he felt in his giant bones that something was wrong.
[23:11.28] In the middle of the night, he tiptoed in and found that his breakfast had escaped.
[23:18.49] Furious, he put on his boots and ran out of the house to search for them.
[23:24.74] Tom and his brothers had been running as fast as they could.
[23:27.78] But when Tow saw the ogre coming up so quickly behind them,
[23:31.22] He knew it was useless to keep on.
[23:33.00] He pushed his brothers and himself inside an old hollow log and waited.
[23:39.28] The ogre was getting tired from all his chasing.
[23:43.19] And as a log came ahead him,
[23:45.24] He sat down to rest on the same hollow log where the boys were hiding.
[23:50.66] He felt so good to sit down that he took of his boots,
[23:55.31] Lay them beside him,
[23:57.16] And had a little nap.
[24:00.58] Tom crept out of the hollow log,
[24:03.36] And stepped into the boots himself.
[24:07.90] Now don't ask me how his feet fit the same boot that the ogre's feet has also fit.
[24:15.07] These boots were very magic, I suppose.
[24:18.50] But in a few moments, Tom was striding away,
[24:22.15] Across the fields, and was back at the ogre's castle.
[24:26.82] "Oh, Mrs. Ogre", he said to the wife,
[24:29.40] "your husband has sent me with a terrible message.
[24:32.50] He has been attacked by robbers.
[24:34.87] And he says, that the less you give me all your jewels and plate and gold coins to give to them,
[24:42.57] He will be killed."
[24:45.20] The wife was terrified, and she gave him all that he asked for.
[24:50.78] Tom returned to his brothers,
[24:52.93] Got them out of the wood,
[24:54.35] And they all returned home with the ogre's treasure.
[24:58.54] Their parents were overjoyed to see them.
[25:02.92] The family was rich now,
[25:04.71] And there was no more talk about leaving the children to be raised by others.
[25:09.31] And as for the ogre, he may still be napping on the hollow log.
[25:13.81] So watch out next time you go into the woods.
[25:19.69]
[25:22.80][music]
[28:26.00]
[28:27.36] The afternoon is getting quite windy,
[28:29.94] Perhaps I should get a little walk later on.
[28:32.48] I love to walk in the wind.
[28:34.63] Monsieur Ravel used to love to walk as well.
[28:37.30] He did not enjoyed the wind as I did.
[28:41.05] I remember one day in particular.
[28:44.15] I had been reading a book about pythoness.
[28:48.31] I was a walking along, and a twig snapped by my foot.
[28:52.57] I screamed, imagining it was a dread python come to devour me.
[28:58.37] Monsieur Ravel tried to reassure me,
[29:00.40] But I was still terrified.
[29:02.94] Finally he said he knew a story about a very wonderful green snake.
[29:08.77] And if I would only please stop carrying on,
[29:12.06] He could tell it to me.
[29:13.66] My crying stopped instantly.
[29:16.20] We sat down together on a bank full of wild flours,
[29:19.80] And he began to tell me the story
[29:22.76] Of...Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas
[29:31.55] Once upon a time, there lived a good hearted King and Queen,
[29:36.29] Who had twin baby girls.
[29:39.39] When it was time for them to be christened,
[29:41.74] All the important people and fairies in the kingdom were invited.
[29:46.30] But, as so often happen when people plan a big event,
[29:50.74] Something gets forgotten.
[29:53.25] And what got forgotten in this case,
[29:55.90] Was the fairy Magotine
[29:59.63] Magotine was the most black-hearted and sour fairy in the world.
[30:04.83] And even though she was not invited to the christening,
[30:07.30] She came anyway,
[30:09.46] In a black sour puff of smoke.
[30:13.89] All the fairies but one have already offer their wished to the baby princesses.
[30:18.95] When Magotine appeared,
[30:20.98] She hobbled up to the cradle,
[30:23.22] Touched one of the babies on the cheek and cried:
[30:26.82] "My wish for you is perfect ugliness."
[30:32.34] And then she disappeared.
[30:34.76] The queen cried and screamed
[30:37.15] Until the last fairy,
[30:38.52] The one who has not to give her wish said:
[30:41.35] "Your Majesty, maybe I can help.
[30:44.80] Here is my gift to the Princess:
[30:47.79] Although she will be ugly, she will still find great happiness."
[30:54.01] And the Queen had to be happy with that.
[30:58.41] Time passed, and the two little Princesses grow up.
[31:03.42] The pretty one, Bellet, was as ??? and freshly-colored as her rose;
[31:10.29] But the other one, Laideronnette,
[31:13.37] Grow up to be so hideous that no one could bear to look at her.
[31:19.15] Finally, when she was 18 years old, she said to her parents:
[31:24.37] " I love you so much, but I cannot stand living here anymore.
[31:29.00] Please let me live as mistress of the castle by the sea.
[31:33.07] I should be all by myself there.
[31:35.64] And there will be nobody's eyes to remind me how ugly I am."
[31:39.73] The King and Queen grieved,
[31:42.45] But they love their daughter,
[31:44.21] But they let her go.
[31:50.68][music]
[32:02.91] Laideronnette was happy at the castle.
[32:05.25] She was not lonely,
[32:06.98] For she had books to read,
[32:08.67] Walks to take,
[32:10.24] Her harps to go to play,
[32:11.98] And her pet kitten to giggle at.
[32:15.63] One day she was taking her favorite walk through a leafy forest,
[32:18.87] When suddenly a huge green squirmy serpent rear up in front of her.
[32:25.91] She screamed in terror and ran shuddering back to the castle.
[32:30.59] She never took the leafy forest walk again.
[32:34.12] The following week, Laideronnette decided to take a swim at the seashore.
[32:40.36] Suddenly, as she was swimming, a wicked storm struck.
[32:45.14] The waves grew larger and larger,
[32:47.82] And Laideronnette was afraid she was going to drown!
[32:51.15] Luckily, she saw a green log floating there.
[32:54.65] She reached the log, threw herself up,
[32:57.46] And to a horror, felt the log move under her!
[33:02.02] It was none other than a green serpent!
[33:05.96] Laidernnette fainted.
[33:08.40] The next thing she knew,
[33:11.06] She was lying on a couch,
[33:13.19] In a splendid white bedroom she had never seen before.
[33:17.76] And around her, smiling, were dozens of tiny creatures.
[33:24.32] They looked like Chinese idles.
[33:27.63] When she sat up they bowed and curtsied to her.
[33:31.08] The bells on the little hats chimed most adorably.
[33:35.87] "We are the Pagodas", they said.
[33:37.59] "We are here to make you happy."
[33:40.04] And they danced and sang for Laideronnette,
[33:42.03] And she was enchanted.
[33:44.90] They led her to an even more beautiful apartment,
[33:48.06] Which they said it was for her.
[33:49.78] And they told her to call them anytime she needed anything.
[33:53.25] Laideronnette remained in Pagoda, for that was the name of the country.
[33:58.18] For several months, she was very happy there.
[34:02.47] But the longer she stayed, the more curious she became.
[34:06.54] "Who is your ruler?" she asked one day.
[34:11.56] "The King!" the Pagoda said,
[34:14.74] "It is he who told us to take such good care of you!"
[34:18.56] "I would like to meet him and thank him", Laideronnette said.
[34:22.59] The next day, she was taken to the throne room of the Palace.
[34:27.33] The room was very grand, but the great throne was empty.
[34:34.02] "I hear you wish to see me", said a beautiful voice.
[34:39.98] "But it cannot be, because the fairy Magotine had put a curse on me.
[34:47.09] For seven years, no one can see me.
[34:50.55] Five of the years have already past,
[34:53.11] And there are two to go.
[34:55.31] I have been watching you these weeks, Laideronnette", he went on,
[34:59.45] "And I have grown to love you.
[35:02.81] Will you be my wife?"
[35:06.91] Laideronnette was very pleased by his offer,
[35:09.72] And said that if she was given a chance to know him better,
[35:12.65] She might agree to it.
[35:15.59] For the next few weeks, she spent a lot of time with the King.
[35:19.77] Laideronnette never saw him,
[35:21.86] But his voice was so beautiful and kind,
[35:25.63] His word so intelligent,
[35:27.41] That she finds herself falling in love.
[35:31.80] The night before the wedding,
[35:33.49] The King said to her: “Remember the curse, my dear,
[35:38.02] For two more years I must stay invisible.
[35:42.02] If you try to see me before then,
[35:44.06] A terrible thing would happen.
[35:46.82] Do you understand?"
[35:49.14] "Oh, yes", she said: “I promise not to be curious."
[35:53.16] It was an easy promise to make,
[35:55.91] But it was not an easy promise to keep.
[35:59.92] For as the months ??? on,
[36:01.91] And Laideronnette grew to love her husband more and more,
[36:05.94] More and more she wishes to see him.
[36:09.10] One day, she was in the garden gathering roses,
[36:12.68] And the King was behind a trellis.
[36:15.50] Laideronnette slipped quietly up and peeped through at him.
[36:19.76] And then she shrieked with terror and fell back,
[36:23.14] For there was her husband, the green serpent.
[36:29.92] "You have betrayed me!" he cried in a sad terrible voice.
[36:35.11] And then he disappeared
[36:38.34] Miserable and ashamed of herself, Laideronnette left the castle.
[36:43.69] For two years, she wondered around at Pagoda.
[36:47.81] One winter night, exhausted, she came to a small stream.
[36:53.74] A Tiny fairy stood beside it.
[36:56.37] "This is the stream of discretion" the fairy said,
[37:01.57] "If you drink from it, you will one second be beautiful."
[37:07.09] But Laideronnette was no longer interested in being beautiful.
[37:12.77] "The steam of discretion" she said.
[37:15.51] "If I had had discretion 2 years ago, I would have never broken my promise;
[37:21.36] I would never had looked at my husband;
[37:24.11] I would never have brought this tragedy upon us.
[37:28.13] Discretion is something I need.
[37:31.34] Perhaps the stream can give it to me."
[37:34.64] So she thanked and drank.
[37:38.11] And the fairy smiled:
[37:40.72] "I'm very pleased with you, Laideronnette", she said,
[37:44.78] "Instead of caring about being beautiful,
[37:47.64] Your only thought was to be a better person.
[37:51.33] And so you shall be rewarded."
[37:54.91] Laideronnette was given two wonderful rewards.
[37:58.27] The first was when she saw her reflection in the water,
[38:01.61] She gasped at the sight:
[38:03.85] She was absolutely beautiful now!
[38:07.01] Golden and pink and perfect.
[38:10.37] And the second reward was the young man who came up and kneed beside her,
[38:16.46] As he spoke through happy tears,
[38:19.13] Laideronnette recognized him by his voice.
[38:22.18] He was her lost and loved husband.
[38:26.58] The two of them embraced and cried and kissed.
[38:31.01] And they are happy together until the end of their time.
[38:36.66][music]
[42:06.22]
[42:09.07] It is nearly evening now,
[42:11.77] My servant has brought in tea,
[42:14.14] And my cat Sido has snuggled up by my side.
[42:18.58] Sido is old too,
[42:20.88] She loves warms and peace and memories as I do.
[42:26.30] When I was a child,
[42:28.00] I had another cat, Heras.
[42:31.45] Heras was small and slick and he kept himself very dapper.
[42:37.23] "He is like me", Monsieur Havel used to say.
[42:41.04] It was he who gave this cat to me.
[42:43.70] One summer, he was planning to go away on a trip,
[42:47.61] And we would not be seeing him for several months.
[42:51.10] One the day he left,
[42:52.98] I was in tears.
[42:55.53] "Cheer up, little Mimi", he said,
[42:58.44] "What present would you like me to bring back to you from travels?"
[43:02.98] "A cat!", I answered.
[43:05.56] And sure enough, the day Monsieur Ravel Returned,
[43:09.82] Heras was with him.
[43:12.76] We sat, that afternoon, the three of us, in the nursery room,
[43:17.25] The cat curling on my lap,
[43:19.49] And Ravel stretched out alongside as on a rock.
[43:24.17] "I know a story about another girl who was asked to choose her own present." he said.
[43:31.60] "But she chooses something very different from a cat."
[43:35.32] "What did she choose?" I asked him eagerly.
[43:38.35] And, propping himself on one elbow,
[43:42.08] He began the tale of Beauty and the Beast.
[43:52.42] Once upon a time,
[43:54.00] In the days when France was covered with dark woods and darker mysteries,
[43:59.28] There lived a merchant with his three daughters.
[44:02.79] He has once been a wealthy man,
[44:04.90] And his daughters had worn the finest dresses in the kingdom.
[44:08.65] But recently, several of the ships have been lost at sea,
[44:12.68] And now all the money was gone.
[44:15.98] The two oldest daughters could not bear to be poor,
[44:19.99] And they did nothing but whine and complain.
[44:23.51] But the youngest daughter, Beauty,
[44:26.62] Simply hung up her fine dresses and went to work.
[44:30.69] She scrubbed, she cleansed, she prepared the meals,
[44:34.12] And she comforted her poor father and his sadness.
[44:39.25] Then one day, he came to her with wonderful news.
[44:43.59] "Beauty", he said, “A miracle has happened.
[44:46.85] One of my ships has returned to port.
[44:49.24] A fortune has been restored.
[44:51.56] We will be rich again!"
[44:53.71] He set off for the town at once.
[44:56.16] As he was leaving, he hugged his daughters to him.
[44:59.78] "What would you like for a present?" he asked.
[45:03.05] "A fine dress", said the first.
[45:06.51] "A rich jewel", said the second.
[45:10.25] But Beauty only smiled.
[45:13.03] "a rose", she said, “only a rose."
[45:20.63] The merchant rode to the city
[45:23.49] And found that the miracle had not happen after all.
[45:27.03] Yes, one of his ships had come into port,
[45:29.63] But the spices and fabrics on board had been ruined by the salt water.
[45:34.63] So he started home again, even poorer then when he had set out.
[45:40.17] On the way home, he had to ride through a thorny black wood.
[45:44.87] A huge thunderstorm suddenly struck.
[45:48.28] And the merchant, already lost, became terrified.
[45:52.08] "I'll never find the way out", he thought. “I’ll never see my daughters again"
[45:56.92] At that moment, a golden lightening shuddered through the sky.
[46:03.01] And the merchant could clearly see what lay in front of him.
[46:06.76] It was a castle, enormous and black.
[46:10.77] With his last bit of strength, he rode towards it.
[46:14.75] When the merchant reached the castle,
[46:17.11] He know he had entered a strange fairy land indeed.
[46:22.50] He was welcomed into the great hall;
[46:25.03] His dripping cloak was taken away;
[46:27.64] His horse was stapled;
[46:29.53] He's given an elegant dinner.
[46:31.90] And he was put to bed in a soft sheet.
[46:36.18] But in all the deed, he did not see a single soul.
[46:41.50] All the works were done by ghostly unseen hands.
[46:46.45] And he felt the breath of spirit all about him.
[46:50.13] In the morning, the merchant woke early.
[46:53.44] Afraid of the magic around him, he wanted to get back home as soon as possible.
[46:58.52] He dressed quickly, left the castle,
[47:00.88] And found his horse, beautifully groomed, waiting for him.
[47:05.99] But as the merchant was riding away through the garden,
[47:09.14] His eyes fell upon a wonderful rose tree.
[47:12.62] He thought of Beauty and her wish for a rose.
[47:16.06] So he bent and picked one.
[47:19.29] There was a sudden roar, a roar terribly loud as last night's thunderstorm.
[47:26.78] The merchant looked up and screamed.
[47:29.12] For there, in the path,
[47:31.91] Dressed in velvet and silks like a couture,
[47:36.07] Was the most hideous beast he had ever seen.
[47:41.18] The great monster came closer,
[47:44.52] "This is how you repay my hospitality?" the animal roared.
[47:49.56] "I give you shelter, dinner, a bed, and you steal my rose.
[47:55.58] For that, you will die."
[47:58.28] "Oh, spare me!" the merchant cried.
[48:00.98] "I only wanted the rose for one of my daughters."
[48:04.96] A cunning look came into the beast's face.
[48:08.28] "You have daughters?
[48:10.17] Well then, I will give you a choice.
[48:12.83] If one of your daughters is willing to come back here in your place,
[48:16.16] I will spare your life.
[48:17.63] If they refuse,
[48:19.02] Then you will return here to die.
[48:21.76] And do not think you can escape,
[48:24.78] For I have enchanted your horse.
[48:27.77] You will return here in three days,
[48:30.19] With either your daughter, or yourself."
[48:33.36] The miserable merchant got on his horse and rode home.
[48:37.75] When he told his daughters the story of what had happened,
[48:41.07] The two oldest cried and run and screamed.
[48:44.68] But Beauty was very calm.
[48:49.59] "The matter's very simply", she said.
[48:52.87] "The whole thing is my fault.
[48:54.24] And so I will go back into the Beast's castle in your place."
[48:59.05] The merchant would not hear of the idea.
[49:02.09] But on the third morning,
[49:03.68] before he was even awake,
[49:05.46] Beauty stole out of the house and jumped on the back of the horse.
[49:10.76] And by late afternoon, she was at the castle of the beast.
[49:15.70] She found herself as the same strange fairytale as her father had.
[49:21.18] She was taken inside the castle by unseen hands,
[49:24.46] And led to a beautiful bedroom.
[49:27.57] The closet was full of lovely dresses,
[49:30.53] The shelves full of delicate treasures and interesting books.
[49:35.02] Beauty spend the day wondering around the grand castle and ??????grounds.
[49:40.12] But still she saw nobody.
[49:42.21] That evening, when the clock struck seven,
[49:46.70] She was led by unseen hands into the dining hall.
[49:50.97] She sat down and waited.
[49:55.21] "Welcome, Beauty", said a low voice,
[49:59.54] And in walked the Beast.
[50:03.57] Beauty was too kind to show the beast how much his ugliness frightened her,
[50:09.12] So she neither screamed nor ran away.
[50:11.68] She only thanked him politely for his kindness in making her so comfortable.
[50:17.72] He jointed her at the table, and they talked through the meal.
[50:22.71] She was surprised to see what an interesting and amusing companion he was!
[50:27.60] At the end of dinner, he turned to her and said,
[50:32.39] "With a look of great lonely sadness, Beauty, will you marry me?"
[50:39.79] As kind as Beauty was, there was still only one answer.
[50:45.10] "No, Beast, I could never marry you."
[50:50.62] In silence, he walked away.
[50:53.95] The months had passed in the same way.
[50:57.98] Beauty's days were filled with loveliness,
[51:01.38] But also with loneliness.
[51:03.99] So, more and more, she began to look forward to her evening with the Beast.
[51:10.59] How kind he was.
[51:12.32] How they laugh together.
[51:14.41] How interesting he was to talk to.
[51:17.74] But every night he asked the same question,
[51:20.58] "Beauty, will you marry me?"
[51:24.10] And his voice seems to grow sadder and more hopeless every time he said it.
[51:33.28] And she hated to hurt him.
[51:35.73] But still her answer was always the same,
[51:39.27] "No, my Beast, I could never marry you."
[51:46.53] As time went on, Beauty began to miss her family.
[51:51.39] One day, she asked the Beast if she could go home for a visit.
[51:55.40] The Beast grew very sad,
[51:58.72] But he gave his permission.
[52:00.56] "You must promise to come back in a month though, Beauty."
[52:04.32] He told her with a strange smile,
[52:06.75] "Or I shall die of a broken heart."
[52:11.18] Beauty promised and went home.
[52:14.08] Her family were thought her dead long ago.
[52:16.54] What an over joy to see her.
[52:18.83] And she, in turn, was thrilled to find them in happy circumstances.
[52:23.43] Since she had been gone,
[52:25.46] Two of her father's ships had come in and the family was rich again.
[52:29.36] Beauty had a wonderful visit.
[52:32.90] It was so busy and so marry that never once she think of the Beast.
[52:38.11] And then one night, a month the day that Beauty had left the castle,
[52:42.17] She had a dream.
[52:44.67] She dreamed she saw the Beast,
[52:47.39] He was lying by the fountain in front of the castle,
[52:50.90] And he was dying.
[52:53.25] She heard him whisper, “Beauty..."
[52:58.35] And she knew that his heart has broken,
[53:01.41] Because she had not returned to him.
[53:03.71] Beauty woke from the dream, sprang out of bed, and dressed quickly.
[53:07.86] "Where are you going", her sisters demanded.
[53:10.16] "I'm going to my Beast!"
[53:12.38] Within minutes, she said Goodbye to her father and got on her horse
[53:17.98] And was riding through the dark forest towards the castle.
[53:22.13] By day which she founded, chilly and damp as in her dream,
[53:26.88] And there, lying by the fountain, was the still form of the Beast.
[53:33.31] "Beast!" she screamed.
[53:35.40] But it was too late.
[53:37.30] He didn't answer.
[53:39.30] She ran to him and held his heavy hairy head in her arms.
[53:46.00] She looked at his face,
[53:48.16] The face that when she first seen it,
[53:51.03] She had thought it was the ugliest in the world.
[53:54.43] But now all she could see in it,
[53:57.13] Was his kindness and his gentleness and his love for herself.
[54:04.05] "Beast", she wept.
[54:07.28] And her tears fell on his fur.
[54:10.48] "Beast, you mustn’t die.
[54:14.17] You must live, live, so we can be married,
[54:18.39] For I love you and I want to be with you always."
[54:24.52] With those words, the Beast's eyes opened.
[54:31.29] And still weeping, Beauty lean forward and kissed him.
[54:36.60] And when she did, something wonderful happened.
[54:42.70] For suddenly, the Beast began to change!
[54:47.12] The furry body dissolved away,
[54:49.83] And there, lying in Beauty's arms, was not a hideous monster,
[54:55.97] But a radiant young prince.
[55:00.16] The Prince gazed in the Beauty's face
[55:04.72] With eyes that were long-last, no longer lonely and sad.
[55:09.50] "Thank you, my Beauty", he said,
[55:13.37] "You have released me from a terrible spell."
[55:17.45] "Not I", she whispered, “it was love. And it released us both."
[59:44.75][music]
[59:41.27]
[59:43.10] I fell asleep just now, before the fire, and had a strange dream.
[59:50.04] I found myself in a beautiful garden.
[59:53.03] The most beautiful garden I had ever seen.
[59:57.31] I had the left the coming from in front of me,
[60:00.23] So I walked forward until I came to a large lounge.
[60:05.25] It was full of people.
[60:07.22] I felt very shy, so I quickly stepped backwards and hide behind a tree.
[60:13.25] What a wonderful sight it was.
[60:17.35] All the fairy folks were there.
[60:21.50] I saw Tom Thumb and his brothers sitting comfortably by the Ogre and his wife!
[60:27.33] They were all laughing at some joke.
[60:29.51] I saw Beauty, one arm around her father, one arm around her Beast Prince,
[60:35.69] Never to be separated from each other again.
[60:38.95] I saw the Sleeping Princess coming down the castle steps, hand in hand with her prince.
[60:46.04] And I saw Laideronnette and her King, laughing at the dances of a hundred tiny Pagodas.
[60:53.60] And then suddenly, one Pagoda looked over right at me and pointed.
[61:00.65] All the faces turned toward me, smiling, curious.
[61:06.81] Shy and ashamed, I came out from my hiding place.
[61:13.35] Two of the Pagodas took me by the hands and led me across the lounge to a large tree.
[61:19.25] And there, sitting on a chair beneath the tree, was my dear Maurice Ravel.
[61:28.67] "Hallo, little Mimi", he said without surprise.
[61:33.43] "I have a story to tell you."
[61:36.52] I got on his lap, and he began.
[61:40.32] "Once upon a time..."
[61:45.05]

Pinyin

[00:03.75] New Millennium Audio presents
[00:07.74] Audrey Hepburn' s Enchanted tales
[00:15.43] I' m an old woman now
[00:17.86] So old that all these past gets mixed up in my mind with what is now.
[00:24.67] When I remember my childhood, what I remember most is him.
[00:31.56] No memory is without Maurice Ravel, that small
[00:36.89] And elegant man who was to me the greatest composer who ever lived.
[00:43.82] In those years between 1906 and 1908,
[00:48.07] He would' ve come often to la Grand Gate, our country house near Paris, to visit my parents.
[00:55.21] One day he came, very excited.
[00:57.29] " I had written a piano piece, and I think you would like to meet me", he said..
[01:02.16] " It' s called Ma mè re l' Oye. My Mother Goose"
[01:07.85] It was old stories I love best told in music.
[01:12.73] And then he showed me the front page, it was dedicated to my brother and to me.
[01:20.95] And now I sit, an old woman, outside in the orange late summer morning.
[01:27.85] The music in my mind is starting to play.
[01:30.65] I think of my wonderful Monsieur Ravel.
[01:34.75] I' ve heard her live in a castle. It was covered with roses" Monsieur Ravel says to me.
[01:40.51] " Ah! The gasp of the sleeping princess", I cried.
[01:43.85] " It is perhaps my favorite story of all! Oh, tell it to me please!"
[01:50.11] He smiles, draws me onto his lap and begins the story of the Sleeping Princess.
[01:57.99] Once upon a time, a magic time, in a fair far green country, lived the King and Queen.
[02:08.88] They' ve longed to have a child.
[02:10.71] And finally on one bright morning in June, a daughter was born to them.
[02:15.58] " We must give her the grandest christening that ever was", the Queen said,
[02:20.03] " We must even use the golden plates."
[02:22.88] And the King, who did not agree to much she suggested, agreed to this.
[02:29.44] Everyone in the land, all the town' s people were invited to the christening.
[02:35.97] But the most special guest of all were the six good fairies of the kingdom,
[02:41.00] The godmothers of the little Princess.
[02:45.00] One by one, these fairies passed by the royal cradle
[02:49.14] And gave the baby a blessing and a gift.
[02:53.19] One promised the princess beauty One a bright mind
[02:58.57] One an even brighter spirit One a voice of charm One a loving heart.
[03:06.53] But just as the last fairy was about to present her gift,
[03:11.91] A quick angry draft suddenly blew the door open.
[03:15.21] " Why? It' s just the wind", laughed the king.
[03:19.45] But it wasn' t wind. It was a little old woman, thin as wind perhaps.
[03:26.72] But she was so powerful the door the guest shrank back in fear of her.????
[03:31.47] " Melusine", someone whispered:" Melusine!"
[03:36.15] The chocked cry went around.
[03:38.26] Melusine was an evil fairy.
[03:43.26] She had disappeared from the kingdom many years before.
[03:46.42] And no one knew what had become of her.
[03:49.00] The King, hiding his surprise and fear,
[03:52.64] Invited her in and hastily made a place for her at the high table.
[03:58.00] But he couldn' t give her one of the golden plates.
[04:00.66] But it was simply not enough.
[04:02.56] Melusine looked at the china plate given her instead,
[04:05.92] And she smiled, a very thin and awful smile.
[04:14.20] Hobbling up to the baby' s cradle,
[04:16.54] She touched the child' s cheek with her papery hand.
[04:21.67] " I too have a gift for you, my precious" the fairy whispered:" And here it is:
[04:30.93] One day you will prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and died!"
[04:38.96] The guests shrank back screaming.
[04:41.21] The Queen fainted.
[04:43.23] Only the last of the six fairies had come.
[04:47.65] She came forward slowly and faced Melusine.
[04:52.00] " I have not yet given my blessing to the princess", she said softly.
[04:57.05] " Alas. I cannot undo the fairy curse, but I can surely soften it.
[05:04.00] The princess will indeed prick her finger on a spindle, but she will not die.
[05:10.23] She will only sleep for a hundred years until a prince shall come and wake her."
[05:16.24] 17 years pasted, and the Princess was now a young woman.
[05:24.00] She was beautiful, with little golden hair and flecked green eyes.
[05:30.49] She was honest and courageous, curious, tender, marry, and a little clumsy.
[05:38.91] Her favorite game was to explore the huge castle
[05:43.03] And make up stories with the queer things she found there.
[05:48.43] One morning in May, the Princess was exploring a wing she had not been in before,
[05:53.25] And she came up on a funny little room,
[05:58.14] Inside sat an old woman spinning.
[06:00.76] The Princess was enchanted by the strange site.
[06:04.98] " What are you doing? Oh do let me try!"
[06:07.12] She cried and rush forward.
[06:09.15] In an instant her finger pricked the spindle.
[06:11.50] She gave a scream and saint lifeless on the floor.
[06:17.63] The old woman smiled, the cold thin smile of the fairy Mellusine, and melted into icy wind.
[06:28.42] The moment the Princess touched the spindle and fell into a sleep,
[06:33.96] A strange thing began to happenthe whole palace began to sleep as well.
[06:41.99] The king was in the throne room making a new law,
[06:46.53] Nodded off, still holding his quill pen
[06:50.40] The Queen, having her hair brushed by her lady in waiting,
[06:54.00] Fell asleep at the dressing table
[06:57.00] The lady in waiting fell asleep in mid brush stroke
[07:01.39] And on and on, until finally the whole palace was still, heavy, and filled with dreamers.
[07:10.52] And then darkness came to those who dreamed.
[07:14.94] For up, up. Back away of green grew the brambles, climbing and folding huge thorns raised.
[07:25.41] Up the vines grew, protectively fiercely,
[07:29.00] Until finally the whole castle was suckled in her arms.
[07:35.80] And then, even the brambles slept too.
[07:40.54] They slept for a hundred years,
[07:44.35] Slept through wars, and warm harvests, and marriages, and new fashions,
[07:50.97] Slept through the crown of the kingdom passing to a new family,
[07:54.90] Slept through the birth of a new little prince.
[07:59.69] The prince' s name is not important.
[08:02.68] What is important about him is his curiosity.
[08:07.14] From the time the Prince was tiny,
[08:09.95] He has wondered and wondered about the huge castle in the kingdom,
[08:14.32] The one that was all covered with brambles.
[08:17.28] " Who lives there?" he asked.
[08:19.67] And when he was told the legend of the Sleeping Princess, he had smiled.
[08:24.46] " Ah", he said: " I should be the one to awaken her."
[08:28.54] But everyone laughed at him because he was only a tiny child,
[08:33.08] And his thumb wasn' t even as big as one of the brambles that guarded the castle.
[08:38.28] But time passed, and one day the Prince was no longer a child,
[08:44.89] He had grown into a man, wellfavored, and wellliked,
[08:49.68] But with a certain sadness always about him.
[08:54.13] The sadness was the strongest when he rode into the woods,
[08:57.30] And stood at the gates of that mysterious castle,
[09:01.66] Thinking of the Princess who lay inside.
[09:05.48] Many ladies in the kingdom were in love with the Prince,
[09:09.00] But he could not return their love,
[09:11.54] For he had a strange image always before his eyes,
[09:15.41] The image of a brightface child,
[09:17.91] Whose hair was tangled yellow, and whose eyes were flecked with green.
[09:24.72] On his 21st birthday, the prince left the celebration,
[09:29.11] And rode as usual to the bramble covered castle.
[09:33.03] As he stood looking, the longing filled him so much, he began to weep.
[09:39.41] " Let the bramble tear me apart", he thought.
[09:42.82] " If I must die, let me die trying to find the princess."
[09:49.19] The Prince climbed the gate, rusted by years of disuse,
[09:53.79] And as he took his first step into the garden, something wonderful happened
[10:00.71] The thorns, would have been so angry and sharp only a moment before,
[10:05.83] melted into piles of rose petals at his feet.
[10:10.62] And the Prince rushed into the palace, thus he saw everywhere
[10:15.74] Gloomy spider webs and piles of sleeping people.
[10:19.59] He run upstairs and searched the whole castle,
[10:22.60] And there, in the little backroom,
[10:25.65] He found his princess, still lying beside the spinning wheel.
[10:31.29] He smiled when he saw her,
[10:32.95] For this was the girl who had lived in his mind all these years.
[10:39.18] He bend forward and kissed her.
[10:41.75] And when he draw back, a pair of marry tender flecked green eyes were looking at him.
[10:49.88] " I was just dreaming about you", the Princess said.
[10:52.00] Down in the hallway bellow, the king yawned and stretched,
[10:58.02] " Huh... I must have dozed off", he said: " I have a law to finish."
[11:03.66] " Ouch!" the Queen said, as the hair maid combing her hair pulled to sharply on a curl.
[11:09.01] The whole palace was stirring now, all wondering: amazed!
[11:16.29] " Are you ready, Princess?" the Prince asked.
[11:21.33] " Yes" she said.
[11:22.79] And hand in hand, they slowly and started down the long curving staircase.
[11:35.74][music]
[13:04.17] I' m remembering a winter day.
[13:08.59] I gazed into the fire,
[13:11.07] And there, the pictures of the past are dancing.
[13:15.53] It is December, right before Christmas.
[13:19.25] Monsieur Ravel comes to visit us.
[13:22.05] He has dressed in a new dark green topcoat.
[13:26.02] And his arms are full of gifts.
[13:28.44] There' re something dull in adult for my parents,
[13:32.81] New music for my brother,
[13:35.90] And for me, the most wonderful little man made out of tin.
[13:41.35] When he' s wound up, he can walk all around the table.
[13:44.90] Monsieur Ravel loves these mechanical marvels.
[13:48.32] He laughs at the little tin man as loud as my own.
[13:52.79] " I know a story about a boy who was this tiny", he says to me.
[13:58.78] " Oh he was not made out of tin, he was as real as you or I!"
[14:04.09] So I jump onto his lap and beg him to tell me the story of Tom Thumb.
[14:11.90] Once upon a time, deep in a forest, there lived a woodcutter and his wife.
[14:18.37] They had seven children, all redhair boys.
[14:22.99] When business was going well,
[14:25.41] The wood cutter was delighted with his large family.
[14:28.82] But when things were going poorly, he was not so happy.
[14:33.55] " There' re too many bellies to feed", he would complain.
[14:37.11] " Too many feet to keep shod
[14:39.51] Too many backs to covered with clothing
[14:42.30] And not enough money to do it."
[14:46.39] One cold winter, things became unbearable.
[14:50.89] Meals got plainer and leaner,
[14:54.05] Clothes got smaller and more patched,
[14:57.25] And the wood cutter got more and more miserable.
[15:02.90] " Wife", he said one night: " I cannot sit by and watch my sons starve.
[15:09.82] Tomorrow, when I take them out into the forest,
[15:13.21] I would leave them there.
[15:15.48] Perhaps a wealthy merchant will find them
[15:18.34] And provide a better home."
[15:20.87] " Huh!" the wife wept and refused to go along the plan at first,
[15:26.44] But finally she too gave in.
[15:29.92] The woodcutter went to sleep,
[15:32.13] Not feeling at all happy with himself,
[15:34.93] But believing that he was doing the only thing he could.
[15:40.03] What he did not know
[15:41.99] Was that one of the sons had overheard every word he said.
[15:46.92] This was the youngest sonTom.
[15:49.82] Now everyone, including the woodcutter, thought Tom was foolish,
[15:54.57] Simply because he never spoke.
[15:56.94] And everyone also thought Tom was a weakling,
[16:00.12] Simply because he was small.
[16:02.71] When he was born, in fact
[16:04.14] Tom had been no bigger than a man' s thumb,
[16:07.05] And so everyone called him Tom Thumb.
[16:12.66] When Tom heard his father' s plans,
[16:15.23] He realized he had to save his brothers and himself.
[16:19.69] He sneaked out of the house,
[16:21.84] And went to the stream that lays beside it.
[16:26.09] In the moonlight,
[16:27.40] The white stones on the bank
[16:29.39] Glittered like a treasure chest full of undersea jewels.
[16:34.80] Tom filled his pockets with stones and returned to bed.
[16:38.52] The next morning, the woodcutter took his seven sons deep into the forest.
[16:45.21] Every few feet, Tom took a pebble out of his pocket,
[16:49.34] In the daytime they look like ordinary brown rocks,
[16:52.51] And dropped it on the ground.
[16:54.54] At noon, the woodcutter gave each boy a piece of bread and left them.
[16:59.80] " For a while", he said.
[17:02.33] None of the brothers except Tom noticed him weeping as he said it.
[17:07.47] The little while turned into hours,
[17:12.06] And soon it was night.
[17:14.35] The brothers came to realize that their father was not coming back,
[17:18.54] And they began to weep.
[17:20.74] Tom waited politely until they were finished,
[17:23.86] and then he said: " Don' t cry, I will save you."
[17:29.38] His brothers had never heard Tom speak before,
[17:32.75] And they were amazed!
[17:35.49] Tom pointed proudly to the stones he had dropped.
[17:38.75] In the moonlight, they shone like a path of fallen stars.
[17:43.72] He and his brothers followed the path and soon they were back home!
[17:47.65] The woodcutter, who had feel terribly guilty at what he had done, was glad to see them.
[17:53.82] And his wife nearly fainted with joy.
[17:58.00] " No matter how poor we become", the woodcutter said,
[18:01.71] " We will all stay together. I had learned my lesson."
[18:06.45] But unfortunately, he forget again soon afterwards.
[18:14.57] February came,
[18:16.15] The iciest, hungriest, most wolflike February that had ever been.
[18:24.96] There was no work, no money, no food.
[18:30.16] " I can' t stand seeing the children go hungry", the woodcutter roared.
[18:35.33] " Tomorrow I' m taking the children out and leaving them in the forest."
[18:40.03] Again his wife pleaded and wept
[18:43.64] Again he was stubborn
[18:46.27] And Again, little Tom heard every word.
[18:51.35] Tom went outside in the freezing night,
[18:53.99] Looking for more stones,
[18:56.02] But the snow had fall so heavily that stoned were buried beneath it,
[19:00.47] And he could not find even one.
[19:04.04] So he creeped back to the house, not knowing what he was going to do.
[19:12.16] The next morning, the mother gave the children each a slice of bread for breakfast.
[19:18.29] Tom put his in his pocket.
[19:20.78] When the father took the boys out into the forest,
[19:23.97] Tom crushed his bread in his hands,
[19:27.05] And every few feet, he threw down a few crumbs.
[19:31.42] Again the father let the children deep into the woods
[19:35.46] Again he said he would return in a little while
[19:39.29] And again he brushed away tears as he said it.
[19:44.01] When night fell, and no father came,
[19:47.71] The boys all began to cry.
[19:50.91] Except Tom.
[19:52.61] " Don' t be frightened", he said.
[19:54.34] " I will show you the way back."
[19:57.13] He looked for the trail of bread crumbs,
[19:59.37] But it was no longer there!
[20:01.90] The birds in the forest had pounced on the crumbs, and had eaten them, everyone!
[20:09.35] So the seven children had to find their own way home.
[20:13.58] They walked and they walked, through the heavy freezing night.
[20:19.81] Suddenly Tom cried: " I see a light!"
[20:23.51] Yes, it was a small flickering light through the trees!
[20:28.40] The boys rushed forward and found themselves with the door of a huge dark house.
[20:34.19] They knocked, and the door was open by a woman.
[20:37.84] She had once been pretty,
[20:40.50] But fear had chased all her goodlooks away.
[20:45.31] " Oh! Children! You must go!" she said.
[20:48.37] " You' ve come to the house of a terrible ogre!
[20:51.47] A monster who eats little boys!"
[20:55.51] Tom sighed:" Madam, we have just come from a forest,
[21:01.06] Which is full of wolves who also eats little boys.
[21:05.50] I would rather take my chances with the ogre."
[21:09.18] The ogre' s wife, for that was who she was, sighed.
[21:15.20] " My husband is out for a little while", she said,
[21:17.95] " Come inside and at least warm yourselves before the fire."
[21:22.13] The seven boys ran inside.
[21:24.14] And what a joy it was to rest exhausted legs in the huge castle,
[21:29.24] And warm the chilly back to the big fire.
[21:31.84] The ogre' s wife warned them to stay awake,
[21:35.65] But they' re tired of spoke in a louder voice, and soon they were fast asleep.
[21:41.79] Suddenly, there was a huge wind and a huge earthquake,
[21:46.23] And each little boy found themselves caught up in a giant' s fist,
[21:50.84] And gazing into a giant glaring eye.
[21:55.12] The ogre had returned.
[21:59.51] " What is this!" the ogre roared, " human boys?
[22:05.35] What a good woman you are, wife!
[22:07.93] You have caught me a fine supper."
[22:11.46] The wife was very frightened, but she pretended to go along with the ogre' s idea.
[22:17.51] " Thank you, husband", she said, " but I meant these boys to be for your breakfast.
[22:22.62] As you can see, they are too thin and frozen for you to enjoy now.
[22:27.64] I thought that if they were given a good dinner and a good night sleep,
[22:32.03] They will be delicious with your pancakes tomorrow.
[22:36.06] The giant was disappointed, but he agreed,
[22:39.87] Because his wife was really an excellent cook,
[22:42.57] And she knew best about these things.
[22:45.46] The ogre' s wife winked at Tom, and he winked back.
[22:49.24] She gave the boys an excellent dinner and Put them to bed.
[22:53.21] After a sleep of several hours, Tom woke and nudged his brothers.
[22:58.76] " Let' s go", he said.
[23:00.64] And the seven children escaped.
[23:03.36] The ogre was light sleeper, however.
[23:05.43] And he felt in his giant bones that something was wrong.
[23:11.28] In the middle of the night, he tiptoed in and found that his breakfast had escaped.
[23:18.49] Furious, he put on his boots and ran out of the house to search for them.
[23:24.74] Tom and his brothers had been running as fast as they could.
[23:27.78] But when Tow saw the ogre coming up so quickly behind them,
[23:31.22] He knew it was useless to keep on.
[23:33.00] He pushed his brothers and himself inside an old hollow log and waited.
[23:39.28] The ogre was getting tired from all his chasing.
[23:43.19] And as a log came ahead him,
[23:45.24] He sat down to rest on the same hollow log where the boys were hiding.
[23:50.66] He felt so good to sit down that he took of his boots,
[23:55.31] Lay them beside him,
[23:57.16] And had a little nap.
[24:00.58] Tom crept out of the hollow log,
[24:03.36] And stepped into the boots himself.
[24:07.90] Now don' t ask me how his feet fit the same boot that the ogre' s feet has also fit.
[24:15.07] These boots were very magic, I suppose.
[24:18.50] But in a few moments, Tom was striding away,
[24:22.15] Across the fields, and was back at the ogre' s castle.
[24:26.82] " Oh, Mrs. Ogre", he said to the wife,
[24:29.40] " your husband has sent me with a terrible message.
[24:32.50] He has been attacked by robbers.
[24:34.87] And he says, that the less you give me all your jewels and plate and gold coins to give to them,
[24:42.57] He will be killed."
[24:45.20] The wife was terrified, and she gave him all that he asked for.
[24:50.78] Tom returned to his brothers,
[24:52.93] Got them out of the wood,
[24:54.35] And they all returned home with the ogre' s treasure.
[24:58.54] Their parents were overjoyed to see them.
[25:02.92] The family was rich now,
[25:04.71] And there was no more talk about leaving the children to be raised by others.
[25:09.31] And as for the ogre, he may still be napping on the hollow log.
[25:13.81] So watch out next time you go into the woods.
[25:19.69]
[25:22.80][music]
[28:26.00]
[28:27.36] The afternoon is getting quite windy,
[28:29.94] Perhaps I should get a little walk later on.
[28:32.48] I love to walk in the wind.
[28:34.63] Monsieur Ravel used to love to walk as well.
[28:37.30] He did not enjoyed the wind as I did.
[28:41.05] I remember one day in particular.
[28:44.15] I had been reading a book about pythoness.
[28:48.31] I was a walking along, and a twig snapped by my foot.
[28:52.57] I screamed, imagining it was a dread python come to devour me.
[28:58.37] Monsieur Ravel tried to reassure me,
[29:00.40] But I was still terrified.
[29:02.94] Finally he said he knew a story about a very wonderful green snake.
[29:08.77] And if I would only please stop carrying on,
[29:12.06] He could tell it to me.
[29:13.66] My crying stopped instantly.
[29:16.20] We sat down together on a bank full of wild flours,
[29:19.80] And he began to tell me the story
[29:22.76] Of... Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas
[29:31.55] Once upon a time, there lived a good hearted King and Queen,
[29:36.29] Who had twin baby girls.
[29:39.39] When it was time for them to be christened,
[29:41.74] All the important people and fairies in the kingdom were invited.
[29:46.30] But, as so often happen when people plan a big event,
[29:50.74] Something gets forgotten.
[29:53.25] And what got forgotten in this case,
[29:55.90] Was the fairy Magotine
[29:59.63] Magotine was the most blackhearted and sour fairy in the world.
[30:04.83] And even though she was not invited to the christening,
[30:07.30] She came anyway,
[30:09.46] In a black sour puff of smoke.
[30:13.89] All the fairies but one have already offer their wished to the baby princesses.
[30:18.95] When Magotine appeared,
[30:20.98] She hobbled up to the cradle,
[30:23.22] Touched one of the babies on the cheek and cried:
[30:26.82] " My wish for you is perfect ugliness."
[30:32.34] And then she disappeared.
[30:34.76] The queen cried and screamed
[30:37.15] Until the last fairy,
[30:38.52] The one who has not to give her wish said:
[30:41.35] " Your Majesty, maybe I can help.
[30:44.80] Here is my gift to the Princess:
[30:47.79] Although she will be ugly, she will still find great happiness."
[30:54.01] And the Queen had to be happy with that.
[30:58.41] Time passed, and the two little Princesses grow up.
[31:03.42] The pretty one, Bellet, was as ??? and freshlycolored as her rose
[31:10.29] But the other one, Laideronnette,
[31:13.37] Grow up to be so hideous that no one could bear to look at her.
[31:19.15] Finally, when she was 18 years old, she said to her parents:
[31:24.37] " I love you so much, but I cannot stand living here anymore.
[31:29.00] Please let me live as mistress of the castle by the sea.
[31:33.07] I should be all by myself there.
[31:35.64] And there will be nobody' s eyes to remind me how ugly I am."
[31:39.73] The King and Queen grieved,
[31:42.45] But they love their daughter,
[31:44.21] But they let her go.
[31:50.68][music]
[32:02.91] Laideronnette was happy at the castle.
[32:05.25] She was not lonely,
[32:06.98] For she had books to read,
[32:08.67] Walks to take,
[32:10.24] Her harps to go to play,
[32:11.98] And her pet kitten to giggle at.
[32:15.63] One day she was taking her favorite walk through a leafy forest,
[32:18.87] When suddenly a huge green squirmy serpent rear up in front of her.
[32:25.91] She screamed in terror and ran shuddering back to the castle.
[32:30.59] She never took the leafy forest walk again.
[32:34.12] The following week, Laideronnette decided to take a swim at the seashore.
[32:40.36] Suddenly, as she was swimming, a wicked storm struck.
[32:45.14] The waves grew larger and larger,
[32:47.82] And Laideronnette was afraid she was going to drown!
[32:51.15] Luckily, she saw a green log floating there.
[32:54.65] She reached the log, threw herself up,
[32:57.46] And to a horror, felt the log move under her!
[33:02.02] It was none other than a green serpent!
[33:05.96] Laidernnette fainted.
[33:08.40] The next thing she knew,
[33:11.06] She was lying on a couch,
[33:13.19] In a splendid white bedroom she had never seen before.
[33:17.76] And around her, smiling, were dozens of tiny creatures.
[33:24.32] They looked like Chinese idles.
[33:27.63] When she sat up they bowed and curtsied to her.
[33:31.08] The bells on the little hats chimed most adorably.
[33:35.87] " We are the Pagodas", they said.
[33:37.59] " We are here to make you happy."
[33:40.04] And they danced and sang for Laideronnette,
[33:42.03] And she was enchanted.
[33:44.90] They led her to an even more beautiful apartment,
[33:48.06] Which they said it was for her.
[33:49.78] And they told her to call them anytime she needed anything.
[33:53.25] Laideronnette remained in Pagoda, for that was the name of the country.
[33:58.18] For several months, she was very happy there.
[34:02.47] But the longer she stayed, the more curious she became.
[34:06.54] " Who is your ruler?" she asked one day.
[34:11.56] " The King!" the Pagoda said,
[34:14.74] " It is he who told us to take such good care of you!"
[34:18.56] " I would like to meet him and thank him", Laideronnette said.
[34:22.59] The next day, she was taken to the throne room of the Palace.
[34:27.33] The room was very grand, but the great throne was empty.
[34:34.02] " I hear you wish to see me", said a beautiful voice.
[34:39.98] " But it cannot be, because the fairy Magotine had put a curse on me.
[34:47.09] For seven years, no one can see me.
[34:50.55] Five of the years have already past,
[34:53.11] And there are two to go.
[34:55.31] I have been watching you these weeks, Laideronnette", he went on,
[34:59.45] " And I have grown to love you.
[35:02.81] Will you be my wife?"
[35:06.91] Laideronnette was very pleased by his offer,
[35:09.72] And said that if she was given a chance to know him better,
[35:12.65] She might agree to it.
[35:15.59] For the next few weeks, she spent a lot of time with the King.
[35:19.77] Laideronnette never saw him,
[35:21.86] But his voice was so beautiful and kind,
[35:25.63] His word so intelligent,
[35:27.41] That she finds herself falling in love.
[35:31.80] The night before the wedding,
[35:33.49] The King said to her: " Remember the curse, my dear,
[35:38.02] For two more years I must stay invisible.
[35:42.02] If you try to see me before then,
[35:44.06] A terrible thing would happen.
[35:46.82] Do you understand?"
[35:49.14] " Oh, yes", she said: " I promise not to be curious."
[35:53.16] It was an easy promise to make,
[35:55.91] But it was not an easy promise to keep.
[35:59.92] For as the months ??? on,
[36:01.91] And Laideronnette grew to love her husband more and more,
[36:05.94] More and more she wishes to see him.
[36:09.10] One day, she was in the garden gathering roses,
[36:12.68] And the King was behind a trellis.
[36:15.50] Laideronnette slipped quietly up and peeped through at him.
[36:19.76] And then she shrieked with terror and fell back,
[36:23.14] For there was her husband, the green serpent.
[36:29.92] " You have betrayed me!" he cried in a sad terrible voice.
[36:35.11] And then he disappeared
[36:38.34] Miserable and ashamed of herself, Laideronnette left the castle.
[36:43.69] For two years, she wondered around at Pagoda.
[36:47.81] One winter night, exhausted, she came to a small stream.
[36:53.74] A Tiny fairy stood beside it.
[36:56.37] " This is the stream of discretion" the fairy said,
[37:01.57] " If you drink from it, you will one second be beautiful."
[37:07.09] But Laideronnette was no longer interested in being beautiful.
[37:12.77] " The steam of discretion" she said.
[37:15.51] " If I had had discretion 2 years ago, I would have never broken my promise
[37:21.36] I would never had looked at my husband
[37:24.11] I would never have brought this tragedy upon us.
[37:28.13] Discretion is something I need.
[37:31.34] Perhaps the stream can give it to me."
[37:34.64] So she thanked and drank.
[37:38.11] And the fairy smiled:
[37:40.72] " I' m very pleased with you, Laideronnette", she said,
[37:44.78] " Instead of caring about being beautiful,
[37:47.64] Your only thought was to be a better person.
[37:51.33] And so you shall be rewarded."
[37:54.91] Laideronnette was given two wonderful rewards.
[37:58.27] The first was when she saw her reflection in the water,
[38:01.61] She gasped at the sight:
[38:03.85] She was absolutely beautiful now!
[38:07.01] Golden and pink and perfect.
[38:10.37] And the second reward was the young man who came up and kneed beside her,
[38:16.46] As he spoke through happy tears,
[38:19.13] Laideronnette recognized him by his voice.
[38:22.18] He was her lost and loved husband.
[38:26.58] The two of them embraced and cried and kissed.
[38:31.01] And they are happy together until the end of their time.
[38:36.66][music]
[42:06.22]
[42:09.07] It is nearly evening now,
[42:11.77] My servant has brought in tea,
[42:14.14] And my cat Sido has snuggled up by my side.
[42:18.58] Sido is old too,
[42:20.88] She loves warms and peace and memories as I do.
[42:26.30] When I was a child,
[42:28.00] I had another cat, Heras.
[42:31.45] Heras was small and slick and he kept himself very dapper.
[42:37.23] " He is like me", Monsieur Havel used to say.
[42:41.04] It was he who gave this cat to me.
[42:43.70] One summer, he was planning to go away on a trip,
[42:47.61] And we would not be seeing him for several months.
[42:51.10] One the day he left,
[42:52.98] I was in tears.
[42:55.53] " Cheer up, little Mimi", he said,
[42:58.44] " What present would you like me to bring back to you from travels?"
[43:02.98] " A cat!", I answered.
[43:05.56] And sure enough, the day Monsieur Ravel Returned,
[43:09.82] Heras was with him.
[43:12.76] We sat, that afternoon, the three of us, in the nursery room,
[43:17.25] The cat curling on my lap,
[43:19.49] And Ravel stretched out alongside as on a rock.
[43:24.17] " I know a story about another girl who was asked to choose her own present." he said.
[43:31.60] " But she chooses something very different from a cat."
[43:35.32] " What did she choose?" I asked him eagerly.
[43:38.35] And, propping himself on one elbow,
[43:42.08] He began the tale of Beauty and the Beast.
[43:52.42] Once upon a time,
[43:54.00] In the days when France was covered with dark woods and darker mysteries,
[43:59.28] There lived a merchant with his three daughters.
[44:02.79] He has once been a wealthy man,
[44:04.90] And his daughters had worn the finest dresses in the kingdom.
[44:08.65] But recently, several of the ships have been lost at sea,
[44:12.68] And now all the money was gone.
[44:15.98] The two oldest daughters could not bear to be poor,
[44:19.99] And they did nothing but whine and complain.
[44:23.51] But the youngest daughter, Beauty,
[44:26.62] Simply hung up her fine dresses and went to work.
[44:30.69] She scrubbed, she cleansed, she prepared the meals,
[44:34.12] And she comforted her poor father and his sadness.
[44:39.25] Then one day, he came to her with wonderful news.
[44:43.59] " Beauty", he said, " A miracle has happened.
[44:46.85] One of my ships has returned to port.
[44:49.24] A fortune has been restored.
[44:51.56] We will be rich again!"
[44:53.71] He set off for the town at once.
[44:56.16] As he was leaving, he hugged his daughters to him.
[44:59.78] " What would you like for a present?" he asked.
[45:03.05] " A fine dress", said the first.
[45:06.51] " A rich jewel", said the second.
[45:10.25] But Beauty only smiled.
[45:13.03] " a rose", she said, " only a rose."
[45:20.63] The merchant rode to the city
[45:23.49] And found that the miracle had not happen after all.
[45:27.03] Yes, one of his ships had come into port,
[45:29.63] But the spices and fabrics on board had been ruined by the salt water.
[45:34.63] So he started home again, even poorer then when he had set out.
[45:40.17] On the way home, he had to ride through a thorny black wood.
[45:44.87] A huge thunderstorm suddenly struck.
[45:48.28] And the merchant, already lost, became terrified.
[45:52.08] " I' ll never find the way out", he thought. " I' ll never see my daughters again"
[45:56.92] At that moment, a golden lightening shuddered through the sky.
[46:03.01] And the merchant could clearly see what lay in front of him.
[46:06.76] It was a castle, enormous and black.
[46:10.77] With his last bit of strength, he rode towards it.
[46:14.75] When the merchant reached the castle,
[46:17.11] He know he had entered a strange fairy land indeed.
[46:22.50] He was welcomed into the great hall
[46:25.03] His dripping cloak was taken away
[46:27.64] His horse was stapled
[46:29.53] He' s given an elegant dinner.
[46:31.90] And he was put to bed in a soft sheet.
[46:36.18] But in all the deed, he did not see a single soul.
[46:41.50] All the works were done by ghostly unseen hands.
[46:46.45] And he felt the breath of spirit all about him.
[46:50.13] In the morning, the merchant woke early.
[46:53.44] Afraid of the magic around him, he wanted to get back home as soon as possible.
[46:58.52] He dressed quickly, left the castle,
[47:00.88] And found his horse, beautifully groomed, waiting for him.
[47:05.99] But as the merchant was riding away through the garden,
[47:09.14] His eyes fell upon a wonderful rose tree.
[47:12.62] He thought of Beauty and her wish for a rose.
[47:16.06] So he bent and picked one.
[47:19.29] There was a sudden roar, a roar terribly loud as last night' s thunderstorm.
[47:26.78] The merchant looked up and screamed.
[47:29.12] For there, in the path,
[47:31.91] Dressed in velvet and silks like a couture,
[47:36.07] Was the most hideous beast he had ever seen.
[47:41.18] The great monster came closer,
[47:44.52] " This is how you repay my hospitality?" the animal roared.
[47:49.56] " I give you shelter, dinner, a bed, and you steal my rose.
[47:55.58] For that, you will die."
[47:58.28] " Oh, spare me!" the merchant cried.
[48:00.98] " I only wanted the rose for one of my daughters."
[48:04.96] A cunning look came into the beast' s face.
[48:08.28] " You have daughters?
[48:10.17] Well then, I will give you a choice.
[48:12.83] If one of your daughters is willing to come back here in your place,
[48:16.16] I will spare your life.
[48:17.63] If they refuse,
[48:19.02] Then you will return here to die.
[48:21.76] And do not think you can escape,
[48:24.78] For I have enchanted your horse.
[48:27.77] You will return here in three days,
[48:30.19] With either your daughter, or yourself."
[48:33.36] The miserable merchant got on his horse and rode home.
[48:37.75] When he told his daughters the story of what had happened,
[48:41.07] The two oldest cried and run and screamed.
[48:44.68] But Beauty was very calm.
[48:49.59] " The matter' s very simply", she said.
[48:52.87] " The whole thing is my fault.
[48:54.24] And so I will go back into the Beast' s castle in your place."
[48:59.05] The merchant would not hear of the idea.
[49:02.09] But on the third morning,
[49:03.68] before he was even awake,
[49:05.46] Beauty stole out of the house and jumped on the back of the horse.
[49:10.76] And by late afternoon, she was at the castle of the beast.
[49:15.70] She found herself as the same strange fairytale as her father had.
[49:21.18] She was taken inside the castle by unseen hands,
[49:24.46] And led to a beautiful bedroom.
[49:27.57] The closet was full of lovely dresses,
[49:30.53] The shelves full of delicate treasures and interesting books.
[49:35.02] Beauty spend the day wondering around the grand castle and ?????? grounds.
[49:40.12] But still she saw nobody.
[49:42.21] That evening, when the clock struck seven,
[49:46.70] She was led by unseen hands into the dining hall.
[49:50.97] She sat down and waited.
[49:55.21] " Welcome, Beauty", said a low voice,
[49:59.54] And in walked the Beast.
[50:03.57] Beauty was too kind to show the beast how much his ugliness frightened her,
[50:09.12] So she neither screamed nor ran away.
[50:11.68] She only thanked him politely for his kindness in making her so comfortable.
[50:17.72] He jointed her at the table, and they talked through the meal.
[50:22.71] She was surprised to see what an interesting and amusing companion he was!
[50:27.60] At the end of dinner, he turned to her and said,
[50:32.39] " With a look of great lonely sadness, Beauty, will you marry me?"
[50:39.79] As kind as Beauty was, there was still only one answer.
[50:45.10] " No, Beast, I could never marry you."
[50:50.62] In silence, he walked away.
[50:53.95] The months had passed in the same way.
[50:57.98] Beauty' s days were filled with loveliness,
[51:01.38] But also with loneliness.
[51:03.99] So, more and more, she began to look forward to her evening with the Beast.
[51:10.59] How kind he was.
[51:12.32] How they laugh together.
[51:14.41] How interesting he was to talk to.
[51:17.74] But every night he asked the same question,
[51:20.58] " Beauty, will you marry me?"
[51:24.10] And his voice seems to grow sadder and more hopeless every time he said it.
[51:33.28] And she hated to hurt him.
[51:35.73] But still her answer was always the same,
[51:39.27] " No, my Beast, I could never marry you."
[51:46.53] As time went on, Beauty began to miss her family.
[51:51.39] One day, she asked the Beast if she could go home for a visit.
[51:55.40] The Beast grew very sad,
[51:58.72] But he gave his permission.
[52:00.56] " You must promise to come back in a month though, Beauty."
[52:04.32] He told her with a strange smile,
[52:06.75] " Or I shall die of a broken heart."
[52:11.18] Beauty promised and went home.
[52:14.08] Her family were thought her dead long ago.
[52:16.54] What an over joy to see her.
[52:18.83] And she, in turn, was thrilled to find them in happy circumstances.
[52:23.43] Since she had been gone,
[52:25.46] Two of her father' s ships had come in and the family was rich again.
[52:29.36] Beauty had a wonderful visit.
[52:32.90] It was so busy and so marry that never once she think of the Beast.
[52:38.11] And then one night, a month the day that Beauty had left the castle,
[52:42.17] She had a dream.
[52:44.67] She dreamed she saw the Beast,
[52:47.39] He was lying by the fountain in front of the castle,
[52:50.90] And he was dying.
[52:53.25] She heard him whisper, " Beauty..."
[52:58.35] And she knew that his heart has broken,
[53:01.41] Because she had not returned to him.
[53:03.71] Beauty woke from the dream, sprang out of bed, and dressed quickly.
[53:07.86] " Where are you going", her sisters demanded.
[53:10.16] " I' m going to my Beast!"
[53:12.38] Within minutes, she said Goodbye to her father and got on her horse
[53:17.98] And was riding through the dark forest towards the castle.
[53:22.13] By day which she founded, chilly and damp as in her dream,
[53:26.88] And there, lying by the fountain, was the still form of the Beast.
[53:33.31] " Beast!" she screamed.
[53:35.40] But it was too late.
[53:37.30] He didn' t answer.
[53:39.30] She ran to him and held his heavy hairy head in her arms.
[53:46.00] She looked at his face,
[53:48.16] The face that when she first seen it,
[53:51.03] She had thought it was the ugliest in the world.
[53:54.43] But now all she could see in it,
[53:57.13] Was his kindness and his gentleness and his love for herself.
[54:04.05] " Beast", she wept.
[54:07.28] And her tears fell on his fur.
[54:10.48] " Beast, you mustn' t die.
[54:14.17] You must live, live, so we can be married,
[54:18.39] For I love you and I want to be with you always."
[54:24.52] With those words, the Beast' s eyes opened.
[54:31.29] And still weeping, Beauty lean forward and kissed him.
[54:36.60] And when she did, something wonderful happened.
[54:42.70] For suddenly, the Beast began to change!
[54:47.12] The furry body dissolved away,
[54:49.83] And there, lying in Beauty' s arms, was not a hideous monster,
[54:55.97] But a radiant young prince.
[55:00.16] The Prince gazed in the Beauty' s face
[55:04.72] With eyes that were longlast, no longer lonely and sad.
[55:09.50] " Thank you, my Beauty", he said,
[55:13.37] " You have released me from a terrible spell."
[55:17.45] " Not I", she whispered, " it was love. And it released us both."
[59:44.75][music]
[59:41.27]
[59:43.10] I fell asleep just now, before the fire, and had a strange dream.
[59:50.04] I found myself in a beautiful garden.
[59:53.03] The most beautiful garden I had ever seen.
[59:57.31] I had the left the coming from in front of me,
[60:00.23] So I walked forward until I came to a large lounge.
[60:05.25] It was full of people.
[60:07.22] I felt very shy, so I quickly stepped backwards and hide behind a tree.
[60:13.25] What a wonderful sight it was.
[60:17.35] All the fairy folks were there.
[60:21.50] I saw Tom Thumb and his brothers sitting comfortably by the Ogre and his wife!
[60:27.33] They were all laughing at some joke.
[60:29.51] I saw Beauty, one arm around her father, one arm around her Beast Prince,
[60:35.69] Never to be separated from each other again.
[60:38.95] I saw the Sleeping Princess coming down the castle steps, hand in hand with her prince.
[60:46.04] And I saw Laideronnette and her King, laughing at the dances of a hundred tiny Pagodas.
[60:53.60] And then suddenly, one Pagoda looked over right at me and pointed.
[61:00.65] All the faces turned toward me, smiling, curious.
[61:06.81] Shy and ashamed, I came out from my hiding place.
[61:13.35] Two of the Pagodas took me by the hands and led me across the lounge to a large tree.
[61:19.25] And there, sitting on a chair beneath the tree, was my dear Maurice Ravel.
[61:28.67] " Hallo, little Mimi", he said without surprise.
[61:33.43] " I have a story to tell you."
[61:36.52] I got on his lap, and he began.
[61:40.32] " Once upon a time..."
[61:45.05]