Welcome to our A2 elementary English version of Beauty and the Beast! This famous fairy tale follows a kind young woman named Beauty. She goes to live with a scary Beast in his magical castle. But is the Beast really as frightening as he seems? Read on to discover how love and kindness change everything.
In this free graded reader, you can click on any word to see its meaning. Listen to the full story audio to improve your pronunciation. After the story, check out our simple lesson notes with vocabulary and questions to test your understanding.
Enjoy this classic tale as you learn English. Happy reading!
Once upon a time, there was a . He had three daughters. The youngest was called . She was and loved to .
One day, the father went on a . He got in the . He saw a big, dark castle. He went inside. There was food on the table, but no people. He was tired and hungry, so he ate and slept. The next morning, he saw a beautiful garden with roses. He remembered Beauty wanted a rose. He one. Suddenly, a terrible Beast appeared.
The Beast , 'You my rose! You must die!' The father fell to his knees. 'Please, I only wanted a rose for my daughter.' The Beast said, 'Then one of your daughters must . Or you must die.' The father went home sadly. He told his daughters the story. Beauty said, 'Father, I will go. You picked the rose for me.'
Beauty went to the castle. The Beast was kind to her. He gave her a beautiful room with many books. She her family but she was not afraid. Every evening, the Beast came to her. After dinner, he always asked, 'Beauty, will you me?' And she always said, 'No, Beast. I am sorry.'
Months passed. Beauty and the Beast became good friends. She saw that he had a . But one day, she looked in the magic mirror. She saw her father was very sick. 'Beast, please let me to my father!' she cried. The Beast said, 'Go, but please come back. Take this ring. It will to me.'
Beauty went home. Her father was happy to see her, and soon he was better. Her sisters were jealous. They wanted her to stay longer. Beauty promised to return in one week. But she forgot the time. One night, she had a dream. She saw the Beast in the garden. He was dying. She said, 'I must go back!' She put on the ring, and at once she was back at the castle.
In the garden, she found the Beast. He was not moving. 'Oh, Beast, please don't die! I love you!' she cried. Tears fell on his face. Suddenly, a shone around him. The Beast a handsome prince. 'You broke the spell with your love,' he said. 'A witch turned me into a beast because I was unkind. Only true love could change me back.'
Beauty and the Prince were married. All the castle servants, who were also under a spell, became people again. They lived happily ever after. Beauty learned that true beauty is inside.
Long ago, a merchant had three daughters. The youngest, named Beauty, was kind and liked reading.
One day, the father traveled. He got lost in a forest and found a dark castle. He entered, saw food, ate because he was hungry, and slept. Next morning, he saw a rose garden. He remembered Beauty wanted a rose, so he picked one. Then a scary Beast appeared.
The Beast yelled, "You took my rose! You will die!" The father begged, "I only wanted it for my daughter." The Beast said, "One of your daughters must come here, or you die." The father went home sad and told them. Beauty said, "I will go because you picked the rose for me."
Beauty went to the castle. The Beast was kind. He gave her a nice room with many books. She missed her family but wasn't scared. Every night, they ate dinner. After dinner, he asked her to marry him, and she always said no.
After months, they became good friends. She knew he was kind. But one day, in a magic mirror, she saw her father was sick. She cried, "Let me go to him!" The Beast said, "Go, but come back. Take this ring to return to me."
Beauty went home. Her father got better. Her jealous sisters wanted her to stay longer. She promised to return in a week but forgot. One night she dreamed the Beast was dying in the garden. She said, "I must go back!" She used the ring and returned instantly.
She found the Beast lying still. She cried, "Please don't die! I love you!" Her tears fell on him. A light shone, and he became a handsome prince. He said, "Your love broke the spell. A witch cursed me for being unkind. Only true love could save me."
Beauty and the Prince married. All the cursed servants became human again. They lived happily. Beauty learned that real beauty is on the inside.
Let's look at some useful words from Beauty and the Beast. Learning them will help you understand the story better and talk about it more easily.
Here are a few key words, with simple definitions and an example from the tale.
- merchant - a person who buys and sells things ("There was a merchant.")
- castle - a large, strong building where a king or queen lives ("He saw a big, dark castle.")
- garden - a piece of land where flowers and plants grow ("He saw a beautiful garden.")
- roared - shouted loudly and angrily ("The Beast roared.")
Fairy tales are almost always in the past tense. In English, we use the past simple to tell a story. Many verbs get -ed, but some change in special ways.
Look at these examples from the story:
- Regular: picked → picked ("He picked a rose."), wanted → wanted ("He wanted a rose.")
- Irregular: is → was, have → had, go → went, see → saw, fall → fell, say → said
- Try reading the story out loud. Pay attention to the past tense forms!
Adjectives make a story more interesting. They tell us how something looks, feels, or acts. In Beauty and the Beast, adjectives help us imagine the characters and the places.
Can you find these adjectives in the story? What do they describe?
- kind ("She was kind… the Beast was kind to her")
- dark ("a big, dark castle")
- beautiful ("a beautiful garden")
- terrible ("a terrible Beast")
Now it's your turn! You've seen how to use past tense verbs and descriptive adjectives. Try telling this fairy tale again in your own words, or change it a little - what if Beauty found a magic garden instead of a rose?
The more you practice, the more natural past tense narratives will feel. Grab a notebook and write your own short story - you might surprise yourself!
Beauty and the Beast comes from the Mixed / needs review tradition and is best known as a fairy tale. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on 18th-century versions public domain, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.
Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. The original audience was usually kids/general, but this version is adapted for A2 Elementary learners studying English. Use classic tale; not Disney musical details.
If you want to look into the source tradition, start with Project Gutenberg.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our English section and review the A2 English Vocabulary List. After that, try 1,200 English Phrases and Expressions for another useful next step.
