{"product_id":"2940013901933","title":"Princess Belle-Etoile","description":"PRINCESS BELLE-ETOILE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce upon a time there were three Princesses, named Roussette, Brunette,\u003cbr\u003eand Blondine, who lived in retirement with their mother, a Princess who\u003cbr\u003ehad lost all her former grandeur. One day an old woman called and asked\u003cbr\u003efor a dinner, as this Princess was an excellent cook. After the meal was\u003cbr\u003eover, the old woman, who was a fairy, promised that their kindness\u003cbr\u003eshould be rewarded, and immediately disappeared.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShortly after, the King came that way, with his brother and the Lord\u003cbr\u003eAdmiral. They were all so struck with the beauty of the three\u003cbr\u003ePrincesses, that the King married the youngest, Blondine, his brother\u003cbr\u003emarried Brunette, and the Lord Admiral married Roussette.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe good Fairy, who had brought all this about, also caused the young\u003cbr\u003eQueen Blondine to have three lovely children, two boys and a girl, out\u003cbr\u003eof whose hair fell fine jewels. Each had a brilliant star on the\u003cbr\u003eforehead, and a rich chain of gold around the neck. At the same time\u003cbr\u003eBrunette, her sister, gave birth to a handsome boy. Now the young Queen\u003cbr\u003eand Brunette were much attached to each other, but Roussette was jealous\u003cbr\u003eof both, and the old Queen, the King's mother, hated them. Brunette died\u003cbr\u003esoon after the birth of her son, and the King was absent on a warlike\u003cbr\u003eexpedition, so Roussette joined the wicked old Queen in forming plans to\u003cbr\u003einjure Blondine. They ordered Feintise, the old Queen's waiting-woman,\u003cbr\u003eto strangle the Queen's three children and the son of Princess Brunette,\u003cbr\u003eand bury them secretly. But as she was about to execute this wicked\u003cbr\u003eorder, she was so struck by their beauty, and the appearance of the\u003cbr\u003esparkling stars on their foreheads, that she shrank from the deed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo she had a boat brought round to the beach, and put the four babes,\u003cbr\u003ewith some strings of jewels, into a cradle, which she placed in the\u003cbr\u003eboat, and then set it adrift. The boat was soon far out at sea. The\u003cbr\u003ewaves rose, the rain poured in torrents, and the thunder roared.\u003cbr\u003eFeintise could not doubt that the boat would be swamped, and felt\u003cbr\u003erelieved by the thought that the poor little innocents would perish, for\u003cbr\u003eshe would otherwise always be haunted by the fear that something\u003cbr\u003ewould occur to betray the share she had had in their preservation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[Illustration]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut the good Fairy protected them, and after floating at sea for seven\u003cbr\u003edays they were picked up by a Corsair. He was so struck by their beauty\u003cbr\u003ethat he altered his course, and took them home to his wife, who had no\u003cbr\u003echildren. She was transported with joy when he placed them in her hands.\u003cbr\u003eThey admired together the wonderful stars, the chains of gold that could\u003cbr\u003enot be taken off their necks, and their long ringlets. Much greater was\u003cbr\u003ethe woman's astonishment when she combed them, for at every instant\u003cbr\u003ethere rolled out of their hair pearls, rubies, diamonds, and emeralds.\u003cbr\u003eShe told her husband of it, who was not less surprised than herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I am very tired,\" said he, \"of a Corsair's life, and if the locks of\u003cbr\u003ethose little children continue to supply us with such treasures, I will\u003cbr\u003egive up roaming the seas.\" The Corsair's wife, whose name was Corsine,\u003cbr\u003ewas enchanted at this, and loved the four infants so much the more for\u003cbr\u003eit. She named the Princess, Belle-Etoile, her eldest brother,\u003cbr\u003ePetit-Soleil, the second, Heureux, and the son of Brunette, Cheri.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs they grew older, the Corsair applied himself seriously to their\u003cbr\u003eeducation, as he felt convinced there was some great mystery attached to\u003cbr\u003etheir birth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Corsair and his wife had never told the story of the four children,\u003cbr\u003ewho passed for their own. They were exceedingly united, but Prince Cheri\u003cbr\u003eentertained for Princess Belle-Etoile a greater affection than the other\u003cbr\u003etwo. The moment she expressed a wish for anything, he would attempt even\u003cbr\u003eimpossibilities to gratify her.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47070340874480,"sku":"2940013901933","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013901933_p0.jpg?v=1763596874","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013901933","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}