He read to her, in his growly voice, from a book whose binding had gone crumbly with age; a story about a goddess, a goddess more beautiful than the dawn, and her husband, a hunched and silent blacksmith whom everyone called ugly. But when he reached the part where the beautiful goddess betrayed her husband with a handsome warrior, Belle snatched the book from his hand and tossed it so hastily on a side table that it slid off and hit the floor with a thump, the cover splitting in protest against such disrespect.

"That's a very stupid story," she said, catching her breath.