Chapter Two

'And they lived happily ever after.' Belle smiled and closed her book. She looked towards her father who was sitting next to her in their cart, guiding Philippe through the forest paths. "Papa," she called, "how long do you think it will be until we reach the village? It's been such a long trip already."

"Well," Maurice thought aloud, "the innkeeper in the village where we stayed at last night said that it was just a few hours away. If that's true, I'd say that we should be reaching it any minute now." Maurice looked far into the distance past the hills ahead of them. "Look, Belle," he pointed in the distance, "there it is." Maurice patted his horse's back. "Did you hear that, boy? We should be there soon and then you'll be able to get some rest." Philippe was happy at hearing this and continued making his way toward the village with even more energy than before.

It would not be long until they reached the cottage. "This must be the place." Maurice told his daughter as he helped her down from the cart. After unhitching Philippe, they walked towards the cottage. It was small- much smaller than the house where the two had liked at in the city- but seemed pleasant enough. Maurice turned to Belle. "So, what do you think?"

Belle did not know what to say. After sixteen years of city life, this could certainly be quite a change. She knew that this was a life unlike anything she has ever known. The sights and sounds around her were unfamiliar and foreign to her and deep in her heart, she was very unsure that she could get use to a new life like what appeared to be in front of her. She took a deep breath. "It's… different."

"That it is," Maurice said as he put his arm around her, "but it'll all be all right." Belle smiled at him. "Well," "he continued "What do you say we take a look inside?"

"Alright Papa," Belle agreed and the two climbed the stairs to the front door.

Maurice opened the cottage door for his daughter. "After you, my dear," he said holding the door open for her and then followed her in. The Cottage was larger on the inside than it seemed from the outside, but was still small. Even the furniture was smaller and much simpler than anything in the city. Still, it was nicely decorated and big enough to suit their needs. "Well," Maurice said, "isn't this nice?"

Belle agreed. There was nothing about the cottage that she could possibly complain about. There were two bedrooms with cozy-looking beds, a fireplace to keep them warm in the winter, and even a bookshelf with a few books on it. Just then, she spotted a piece of paper sitting on a table. "Papa, look." She said, pointing to the paper.

"What have we got here? Why, it looks like a note." Maurice picked up the paper and began reading it. After he did, he explained to Belle what he had read. "It says that the wood for the fire is in the shed and that the animal feed is in down in the cellar." After reading that, the two heard Philippe whinnying from outside. "Don't worry, Philippe," Maurice called out to him, "You'll get your breakfast." He turned to his daughter. "Well, let's see if we can find this cellar," he said as he led Belle outside the cottage once again.

It did not take long for them to find the cellar. "Papa, I found it," Belle said as she opened the cellar doors.

Maurice walked to his daughter. "So you have. Well, let's take a look-see inside it." The two climbed down into the cellar. It was large and only a small portion of it was used for storing the grain and oats for the animals. There was lots of room and even a fireplace. "Well," the old man said as he looked around with a twinkle in his eye, "not bad. Not bad at all. This could make a nice workshop- a place where I can work on my inventions."

"That would be wonderful, Papa." Belle said smiling widely.

"Yes," he announced with satisfaction, "this will be where I make my big invention."

"What will it be?" Belle asked curiously.

Maurice smiled. "I'm not sure yet, but whatever it is, it's sure to be something great."

"Oh, I know you can do it, papa." Belle hugged her father. Just then, they heard Philippe whiney again. "I think he's hungry." Belle said.

"I'd better get some oats for him then." Maurice walked over to get some oats to put into the horse's feedbag. "And after that, we can start bringing the trunks inside."

"As long as you let me help you Papa," Belle replied.

"Of course, of course. Now we'd better hurry. These animals aren't going to feed themselves."

Belle smiled at her father and the two climbed back out from the cellar. At that moment, she noticed something different in her father. He seemed to be happier than she had seen him for more than a year. He chuckled as he looked around the cottage. "Yes, this should suit us quite nicely."