Hello there, and welcome to episode 31 of Down to Sleep, the podcast of softly spoken stories

where I read to you every week whilst you drift off. Let's go ahead and tuck you in tonight

and listen to Beauty and the Beast. If you have found this podcast useful and you would like to

support it, you can join the Sleepy Little Book Club at patreon.com slash down to sleep.

For a few dollars a month, you get extended episodes and a bonus reading every single week.

So, for example, this episode is actually 45 minutes long.

If you are a supporter on Patreon, it is the entire book.

And the bonus episodes every week are just like a normal episode, but they're just

for people on Patreon. These can be everything from Lord of the Rings to a continuation of the

picture of Dorian Gray and a complete reading of Alice in Wonderland. So come and join us and

support Down to Sleep at patreon.com slash down to sleep. We'd love to have you join us, but otherwise, thank you so much for

being here. I hope that this episode helps you, and let's slip right in to this book tonight.

Take a nice deep breath. Let's tuck you in and begin. Beauty and the Beast.

Once upon a time, in a far-off country there lived a merchant,

who had been so fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously rich. As he had six sons and

six daughters, however, who were accustomed to having everything they fancied. He did not find

that he had a penny too much, but misfortunes befell them. One day, their house caught fire

and speedily burned to the ground, with all the splendid furniture, books, pictures, gold,

silver, and precious goods that it contained the father suddenly lost every ship that he had upon the sea either by dint of pirates shipwreck or fire then he heard that his clerks in distant countries whom he had trusted entirely

had proved unfaithful, and at last from great wealth he fell into the direst poverty.

All that he had left was a little house in a desolate place, at least a hundred leagues from the town.

And to this, he was forced to retreat.

...