Marlee Belle Told Her Father To Hide The Gold

The Beast had told Marlee Belle's father to leave as soon as he heard the rooster crow early the next morning. He had told him to fill up four trunks full of beautiful jewels and clothing for his family. He had also seen a trunk full of gold. The time he had been to the castle before, Marlee Belle had told him to take the gold and fill in the spaces between the clothes and jewels. She said perhaps he should hide the gold and spend it wisely. They didn't want people to know that he had money or they might want to steal it.

He worked and worked on filling the trunks but they never seemed to get full. When at last he was finished they were too heavy for him to lift and sadly he decided that he would go home with nothing for his family. He was a very sad man. He had to leave his beautiful daughter without even saying goodbye to her. He hung his head and laid down on the bed and fell sound asleep.

Marlee Belle's father awoke to the smell of delicious food once again. He went to the small dining room and ate a wonderful meal. Just as he was finishing up he heard the sound of a rooster crowing. That was his signal to leave the castle without his beautiful Marlee Belle.

Amazingly when he was about to leave there were two horses that had the trunks on their backs that he had filled the night before. He was astonished. He heard the horses whinny and stomp their feet. They were ready to go. He jumped on his horse and was immediately transported back through the forest to his little cottage in the country.

When he reached his home he quietly hid the gold in Marlee Belle's closet as they had talked about. He noticed how greedy his daughters were, but at the same time he also noticed what wonderful young men his sons had turned out to be. They were kind and worked hard at the neighbors as farm hands.

After several months it seemed that Marlee Belle's father was the only one to miss her. He had been warned not to return to the castle or he and Marlee Belle would be harmed. Of course, he loved his daughter and did as the Beast had told him, but every night he would dream and pray for her as he went to sleep.
As time went on Marlee Belle's father had used his gold wisely. The Beast had given him a lot of gold. He had earned enough with the gold to start a new business and eventually bought a big beautiful home in the city. His children had grown older and some had gotten married. His two daughters had found men to love and both of them were going to be married soon. They never mentioned their sister, Marlee Belle, again.