Beauty and the Beast

an old fairy tale told in various forms and in many languages. The story is that of a beautiful young girl, who, to save the life of her unfortunate father, becomes the guest of a frightful monster. The Beast, however, proves both kind and intelligent. In spite of his ugliness, Beauty learns to love him. He is then able to resume his true form, which is that of a handsome young prince. The story has many English version, Miss Thackeray's being the most worthy of mention. A counterpart to the tale is thought to exist in the old Greek legend of Eros and Psyche. See Psyche