It was evening when he set out for home.
"Maybe I’ll be able to find one on the way home," he said to himself.
He was still far from home when it started to grow dark. He was in an unfamiliar part of the forest, and knew that he would soon be lost if he did not find somewhere for the night. He suddenly saw some lights and soon found himself outside a vast mansion.
"I did not know that this was here," said the merchant. "I must really be lost!"
The merchant went into the house as the front door was open. He looked around, but there was nobody to be seen. He suddenly sniffed the air. He could smell delicious food. A table in the dining room was laid for one, so he sat and ate a hearty supper.
He suddenly remembered his horse, and went to stable it for the night, but it had already been done, and the horse was tucking into a bag of oats.
’How strange,’ thought the merchant, returning to the house. There, a bedroom had been prepared for him. He slept well, and in the morning, found all his clothes had been cleaned, breakfast was ready and his horse was saddled.
At the front door, he turned to thank his unseen host, but then he saw the garden. I was full of roses - roses of every different colour.
"Now I can get Beauty’s present," said the merchant, and he picked a red rose.
The merchant nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a furious roar.
"Have I not been a good host? roared the voice. "I fed you, gave you a bed for the night and stabled your horse, and you repay me by stealing from me."
The owner of the voice then came into sight. The merchant shuddered. It was the ugliest creature he had ever seen.
"I am very sorry, " said the merchant. "I picked it for my daughter."
"If you wish to live, you must send the first living thing you see when you arrive home, " said the Beast.
"Very well," said the merchant. He knew that his dog usually GREeted him first.
He then set off for home. But to his dismay, it was Beauty who ran out of the house to GREet him. The dog was lying asleep in the sun.
The other girls came out to empty the saddle bags and to see their presents. He went quietly into the house. Beauty was worried and followed him in.
"What’s wrong?" she asked.
"I must send you to the Beast’s house," he said sadly, and then told Beauty what had happened.
"I will go," said Beauty. "We must keep your promise."
"But you have not seen him," said her father. "I will still go," said Beauty. "He surely cannot be as ugly as you say."
译文：
夜里，莫维斯和费立在黑漆漆的森林里迷路了。莫维斯沮丧地说：“我们天亮前赶不到展览会了。”更可怕的是，他们受到了一群野狼的攻击，费立受惊慌乱地跑回村子。
莫维斯拼命逃脱了狼群的追击，来到一座阴森森的城堡面前。城堡的大门敞开着。他冲了进去，哐当一声关上大门。野狼在门外疯狂地嚎叫着。
在这座令人毛骨悚然的古堡里，莫维斯惊讶地发现每件器皿都会说话！温文尔雅的蜡烛台卢米亚说：“你能活着到这里真令人难以相信！”胆小的闹钟葛士华说：“嘘！安静点！别把主人吵醒了！”卢米亚对莫维斯说：“过来休息一下吧！”莫维斯精疲力尽地倒在沙发上。茶煲太太说：“你要喝茶吗？”小茶杯阿齐赶紧凑过来。“不行，主人会发现的！”葛士华大叫。茶煲太太说：“嘿！你才应该小声点！”然后，她倒了一杯热气腾腾的好茶给莫维斯。
莫维斯刚端起茶杯，突然，餐厅的门被撞开了，一只可怕的野兽出现在莫维斯面前。他张开血盆大口，露出尖尖的牙齿，怒吼着向莫维斯冲了过来。野兽吼着：“你在这里干什么？”不容莫维斯辩解，野兽就下令把他关进了牢房。
此时，在村子里，加斯顿正缠着贝儿答应嫁给他。可是贝儿再一次拒绝了他，并下了逐客令。
加斯顿走后不久，费立飞奔到贝儿的屋前。贝儿吃惊地问：“怎么回事？爸爸呢？”费立冲着莫维斯出事的地方长嘶，贝儿明白父亲出事了。她立即跳上马，费立带着贝儿又飞奔而去。
费立把贝儿带进森林里。贝儿在浓雾中隐隐约约地看到了城堡的大门，她战战兢兢地走了进去。
正当贝儿在城堡里寻找父亲时，被小茶杯阿齐发现了。阿齐兴奋地跑去告诉妈妈茶煲太太：“妈妈！有个女孩来啦！”不一会儿，所有的器皿都看到了贝儿。他们认定她就是破除魔法的女孩。
不久，贝儿发现了关在牢房里的莫维斯，她大声地喊：“爸爸！我一定要把您救出去！”此时，有个巨大的阴影罩在了贝儿的身上，她回过头来，正好撞上了野兽。贝儿吓得大叫起来。贝儿为了换取父亲的自由，决定留下作野兽的犯人。莫维斯心碎地离开了城堡。野兽带着贝儿来到她的房间。野兽告诉贝儿：“除了我住的房间，你可以在城堡里自由走动。”
城堡中的器皿仆人都异常兴奋，因为他们知道，如果野兽和贝儿相爱，魔法就会破除，他们就能恢复人形了！
晚餐前贝儿房里的衣柜说：“让我们想想，晚餐时你该穿什么衣服吧！”贝儿大叫：“告诉你，我不要吃晚餐！我只是他的囚犯，不是客人！”
一回到村子里，莫维斯就跑到当地的酒馆，将野兽和贝儿的事情告诉了乡亲们。可没有人相信他，大家都认为他是个疯老头。加斯顿也在酒馆里，他心里琢磨：“嗯……大家都认为这老头不正常，这倒让我想起一个逼贝儿嫁给我的好主意！”
