Enchanted Tales - Audrey Hepburn.mp3

[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, dust 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 bedroom,
[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]