Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale written by French novelist Marie Leprince de Beaumont and published in 1756. A merchant eventually loses all of his wealth in a tempest at sea. He and his daughters are consequently forced to live in a small farmhouse and work for their living. After some years of this, the merchant hears that one of the trade ships he had sent off has arrived back in port, having escaped the destruction of its compatriots...