Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Beauty and the Beast: Part 3

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey friends, for the best Get Sleepy experience, be sure to check out our supporters feed Get Sleepy Premium for our free listening weekly bonus episodes and access to our entire catalogue. Now, a quick word from our sponsors who make the free version of this show possible. Welcome to Get Sleepy. Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy. My name's Tom, and I'm your host. Thank you for tuning in. Tonight we conclude our weeklong series of Beauty and the Beast. In the last episode, Laurent left his daughter Camille at the mansion.

Starting point is 00:00:53 There, she met Gabriel, the young man who helps out around the house. He told her that the owner, the mysterious Baron named Antoine, is a kind and compassionate man, despite his forbidding appearance. Soon Camille and Antoine found themselves dining together, discussing books and philosophy and getting on well. Camille realized she needed additional help to keep up the house and grounds, so she asked Antoine if she could hire some local men to help in the gardens. Upon their arrival, she overheard them gossiping about the owner and his beastly looks. Antoine also heard the insults, but chose to ignore them. Camille was unsure what to make of his quiet acceptance. And that's

Starting point is 00:01:58 where we'll begin from in part 3 of the tale tonight. So once again, before we pick back up where we left off, just give yourself a moment to get cozy and comfortable in bed. Allow your eyes to fall closed if they haven't already, and just follow the gentle rise and form of your chest and stomach, enjoying the soothing flow of air as it travels in and out of your body. Remind yourself that there is no pressure to fall asleep. Your focus need only be to relax and rest. While you follow along with our story, sleep will come your way without force. So just let it come naturally. And meanwhile, listen along and enjoy the final part of our magical fairy tale. Despite the large amount of work that waited to be done each day, Camille still made time to explore the house. As autumn properly set in, with its crisp days, early sunsets and chilly evenings, she would

Starting point is 00:04:22 wander the corridors with a candle, using her heavy ring of housekeys to find out what was behind the myriad closed doors that lined the halls. Most of them were bedrooms. It was obvious that this country's shadow had once hosted many fine guests of the nobility. Now covered in dust sheets, one darkened room after another revealed four poster beds, expensive furniture and dusty fabric covered chairs. One day she found what appeared to be a very special room. It had clearly been a ladies chamber. Unlike the other ones, however, it was still full of her belongings. A graceful dressing table was covered with jars of powder and perfume bottles that twinkled in the afternoon sunlight. Elaborate wigs of the type worn decades ago sat nearby on their own stands, as if waiting

Starting point is 00:05:54 to be taken to a ball. Opening the wardrobe, Camille was astounded to find a row of decadent silk dresses in the fashion of the time before the revolution. She ran her hand lightly over their delicate skirts, almost afraid that they would disintegrate in her fingers. She imagined the elegant woman who must have worn them. Opening the chest of drawers, she saw that it was filled with glittering necklaces. One small velvet container held a ring with a twinkling sapphire in it. Closing the box, Camille slid the drawer shut quietly. She would not want to appear to be thieving.

Starting point is 00:07:05 Regretfully, she slipped back out of the room and locked it again. It was like a portal to a happier time, and by far the most beautiful thing she'd seen in the house. Camille faithfully wrote letters to her father, which Gabriel took to town when he ran errands. In them she reassured him that she was being treated very well and that she enjoyed her work. Soon, she was even able to begin sending him some money. After her first month, the Baron had told her that he couldn't let her keep working without pay, as the damage to the Rosebush had certainly

Starting point is 00:08:08 been made up for. He said that he hoped she would stay, and that he would be giving her a weekly salary for the work. Camille gladly accepted. As Antoine's housekeeper, she felt she had found her calling. All her powers of organization were put to good use, and the excellent company, and the access to his incredible library were becoming her chief joyous in life. In fact, it was easy to forget that Antoine was considered unsightly. Nothing had changed about him except that Camille made sure his clothes were better kept and more

Starting point is 00:09:06 presentable. Once in a while, however, she would see a normal, nice looking man reflected back in a mirror when he passed it on the wall. Or she would be speaking with him and he would no longer be covered in hair and his features would seem more harmonious. In such cases she would blink a few times and refocus and see that he was the same fearsome looking man as before. Perhaps the dark magic of the chateau was working on her mind, she thought, with rye amusement. Occasionally, a beggar would come to the door with the biting winter wind at his back, not knowing anything about the notoriety of the estate.

Starting point is 00:10:16 In her village at home, beggars had been generally rebuffed and rarely received any help. The attitude of the townspeople had been that they deserved what they got, and that hardworking people didn't end up destitute as they were. Camille expected Antoine to send them packing. But instead, he would ask her to give them a meal and some coins before they left. Camille was moved to ask him why he exhibited such charity. After all, nobody who lived nearby showed any kindness to him. Once again, he referred to a great philosopher he admired. This one, named Aristotle, saying, it is the characteristic of the magnanimous man, to ask no favor, but to be ready to do kindness to others.

Starting point is 00:11:38 Then somewhat wavily, he added, I must learn to be a more magnanimous man, because it is my prior path in life that led me to ruin. She was not able to get any other explanation out of him at that moment. But she earned to better understand exactly what had happened to Antoine. That evening, they chatted companionably in the candlelit dining room over a hearty winter stew. It was then that Camille worked up the courage to ask him how he had come to be so alone at the chateau. Montoirn appeared to hesitate, sighing deeply and leaning back in his chair at the table. Then, taking a long sip of his drink, he began to tell a story.

Starting point is 00:12:57 Many years ago, I lived here with my mother. My father had died when I was a young man and that was how I became Lord here. I loved my mother. She was a beautiful person inside and out. Always the life of the party but still managing to be kind to everyone. It was her rose bush that your father stripped of its blooms. On swan paws stung comfortably and then continued. When my mother became ill and passed away, I was left here to my own devices, and I machined to say that I did not live well. I was inexperienced and foolish. I squandered the family money on extravagant possessions and ridiculous parties. I neglected the estate, left bills on paid, and didn't care for my employees as I should have. Without my mother's good influence, I fell into a poor lifestyle and was of no worth to anyone, including myself.

Starting point is 00:14:36 One night my servant told me there was a woman at the door begging for food and coin. I was in the midst of a lavish party and could not be bothered. I told him to suggest to her that she goes somewhere and get employment. At this memory, Antoine grimaced, obviously pained by his own words. Before the servant could send the woman off, she pushed herself through the crack in the door and told me that I was cursed by my own foolish vanity. She declared that I would spend my days spanned and unloved, and that the secret to my release could only be found in humanity. At this, Camille borrowed her brow. Humanity, what did she mean by that? Antoine shrugged, This is the riddle I have wrestled with for decades.

Starting point is 00:16:00 I appear to have a limitless number of books in my library by wise philosophers, mathematicians, and poets. The best and wisest of what humanity has to offer is at my fingertips, probably part of my strange enchantment. My mind does improve, but all the brilliance of humanity has yet to provide me a release from my curse. Camille regarded him from across the table. She could hear the light crackling of the fire punctuating the silence and imagined him sitting before many fires for a long time without anyone to talk to. She wondered how many years it had been trapped here in this solitary prison, turning the pages

Starting point is 00:17:08 of countless books in his library, searching for redemption. Antoine smiled brightly in an attempt to break the awkward silence. Oh well, he added, as the excellent Isaac Newton said, to arrive at the simplest truth requires years of contemplation. One of these days, I may yet find the answer. Lying culled up on her bent that night, Camille felt she had finally put the pieces together. For all these years, Antoine had spent his time studying, thinking, absorbing and repenting. He was no longer a man who would refuse kindness to even the undeserving. She did wonder what else there was that he could do. that he could do. Would he forever be trapped here with his books and the dusty souvenirs of the regrettable

Starting point is 00:18:32 person he used to be? She hoped not, because she had really come to admire him. She poured the covers tighter around her chin and gazed drowsily at the remnants of the fire glowing in the hearth. Surrounded by the silence of the house, she slept for another night. All through the crystalline deep freeze of winter, Camille and Antoine went about their lives at the chateau, in pleasant companionship, with Gabriel as their faithful connection to the outside world. Many of the rooms in the enormous mansion simply stayed locked and unused. The part of the house the trio needed for their daily activities was snug and clean, thanks

Starting point is 00:19:47 to Camille's faithful management. Meals were simple but hearty. The blinding white snow piled high in the courtyard, and sometimes the bleak wind whistled in the abandoned passages. But the inhabitants of the chateau stayed close to the fireplaces buried in their books. At last, the first signs of spring arrived. With it, Camille received a letter from her father. He said her oldest sister had managed to make a marriage match, and that her wedding would take place in a couple of weeks. He asked if the Baron would consider allowing her to take some leave in order to attend the festivities

Starting point is 00:20:56 at home. If so, Laurent would be pleased to come and fetch her from the estate. When Camille presented this request to Antoine, he put down his book and gazed at her with a sad smile. He said, of course, she must go, and she should take all the time she needed. As she thanked him for giving his permission, she once again did not see a beast looking back at her. She only saw a man. She had to blink several times to dispel the illusion. As she left the room, she paused briefly and gazed at him again over her shoulder. Then she left him to his reading, putting the moment behind her. Her journey too and from her sister's wedding was uneventful. The family greeted her with much curiosity and perhaps some new found respect.

Starting point is 00:22:31 They admired the tasteful new clothes she had acquired using her salary. It was obvious that the money she was sending to them had helped secure her sister's marriage. Humble, though the match might be. Her family was no longer seen by the villages as being impoverished. Rather, they were viewed as being stable and acceptable thanks to her regular income. And yet Camille felt less at home in the family cottage than she once had. Although she had been contained inside the walls of the chateau this entire time. She felt like her world view had changed, and her horizons had vastly expanded. Seated around the fire with her siblings, who focused only on their own petty concerns. She felt stifled.

Starting point is 00:23:51 She regretted having to leave her father again, but Camille also felt relief when he parted from her at the gates of Antoine's estate. She was ready to return to her life as mistress of the house. Her happiness, however, turned to dismay when she saw the disarray that awaited her. Gabriel answered the door eagerly, obviously delighted that she'd returned. He whispered to her that nothing had been the same since she'd left, and that the Baron was disheveled and did not leave his library. After putting away her things, Camille went straight to see Antoine. As she cautiously opened the door to the library, she found the room in a complete mess.

Starting point is 00:25:07 Books were everywhere, lying open in stacks and generally tossed about the floor. Empty drinking glasses lined the tables. Antoine sat slumped in a chair, looking as if he hadn't changed his shirt in days. At the sound of her arrival, however, he looked up with an expression of sheepish relief. Once again, in this moment, Camille felt she only saw him as a regular man and she struggled to adjust her view. She knew logically that she was standing before an unkempt, unshaven, and rather beastly person. However, her eyes were playing tricks. It took a moment before she saw him properly again. Yes, there he was, in dire need of cheering up.

Starting point is 00:26:34 It only took a few days for Camille to set everything right again. The dust and neglect of a couple of weeks were easily dealt with, and the barren's mood improved instantly upon her return. Gabriel begged her in confidence, however, not to go away again. He said the Baron had sunk immediately into the most terrible melancholy and had been completely useless about managing anything at all, including remembering to eat his meals. With spring bursting out all over the estate, it was impossible to be sat for long. Camille became very glad she had taken the trouble to have the garden cleared before the winter. The courtyard was absolutely beautiful, and the lovely plantings designed many years

Starting point is 00:27:49 ago by Antoine's mother were once again shown to their best effect. Flowers in a rainbow of colours delicately presented themselves. The birds seemed to increase their number by the day, singing sweetly in the morning, inviting the residents of the chateau to the garden. Camille and Antoine took to spending afternoons, reading outside in the pagerra, and he often released Gabriel from his tasks early, so that he could enjoy the afternoon with friends. Camille also took great pleasure in opening the windows of the stuffy mansion and airing it out.

Starting point is 00:28:53 Throughout the estate, life began to feel fresh and new as if the entire place had turned a corner. As the summer grew near, Camille received another message from her father. It seemed now that her other sister was due to went. Once again, she was invited to attend the event. Kamil was torn. She felt obligated to be with her family for the nuptials, but she couldn't imagine leaving Antoine once again.

Starting point is 00:29:48 Faced with this dilemma, she came up with a highly unusual plan. She suggested to Antoine that he should escort her to the wedding and take a room at an inn nearby. Antoine was a guest at the suggestion. Have you not seen how people react to me? He asked her. Camille had been expecting this, and she counted that her own village was far from here, and that people would not already have opinions about him as being terrible any more. She only saw the wise kind man that should come to know.

Starting point is 00:30:53 Surely she thought the people at home would give him a fair chance. The strangeness of a Lord attending a village wedding did not even matter to Camille. She had long ago stopped seeing Antoine as either beast or barren. He resisted and refused, but Camille said she would not go without him. Faced with the prospect of causing her to miss her sister's wedding, Antoine finally agreed. He seemed to dread the prospect, however, and was in a dark mood as the planning went forward. Camille would not be deterred.

Starting point is 00:31:54 She sent Gabriel to the tailor in town, requesting that a new and well-cut suit of clothes be made to Antoine's measurements. It had not escaped her notice all this time that he was wearing the frivolous styles from decades before. The new fashion these days was cleaner and simpler. He had never seen the Baron leave the estate. He promised to keep everything from falling apart before their return. The journey to Camille's village was speedy by carriage. The distance was covered in just a day, and what a fine one it was. Summer was showing its face with verdant exuberance.

Starting point is 00:33:27 As the horse clipped and clopped down the road through the forest, the birds sang joyously from the canopy of foliage over their heads. Bright rays of sunshine blicked the road ahead of them, and the new leaves whispered beguilingly in the breeze. At first, Antoine was silent, as if passively resisting the reality that he was accompanying Camille somewhere in public. After a few miles, however, the pair slipped into conversation about a book Camille had been They were having their usual, lively exchange. Camille smiled to herself to see the best in him come out. Looking at him from the side, she could have sworn she was sitting next to a charming fellow.

Starting point is 00:34:44 she was sitting next to a charming fellow. Happy with that idea, she did not try to dispel the magic. Inevitably, their companionable journey had come to an end. As Twilight fell, and the crickets began to serenade the fields with their nightly song, Antoine and Camille pulled up at her family's cottage and halted the carriage. By the time they had climbed down from their seats, the entire family was at the front door. All four of her remaining unmarried siblings gawking rudely at them both. Laurent made a much greater effort to contain himself. He stepped forward and nodded politely to Antoine, thanking him for bringing Camille and for honoring them with his visit.

Starting point is 00:35:59 However, Camille felt her cheeks grow hot with shame, when her brother loudly whispered something to her older sister, causing the silly girl to laugh. It was obvious to everyone that they were making jokes about the Baron. jokes about the Baron. It was a relief to everyone when Antoine departed for his lodgings. Camille allowed herself to be ushered inside, where she spent the evening talking with Laurent and her siblings, asking politely about the wedding preparations. She was worried, however, about how Antoine was fearing at the inn, and hoped he was not suffering ill behavior there. When her head lay on her pillow that night, she drifted off to sleep with thoughts of him weighing heavily on her. She realized she would be glad when they'd gotten through this wedding and returned to the chateau, which she now felt was her real home. On one looked grim when he arrived at the church the next day for the wedding.

Starting point is 00:37:43 It was obvious that Camille's fears had come true. They sat in silence during the ceremony, both feeling as if they were being stared at the entire time. The small church felt tiny with the whole congregation scrutinising them. The celebration afterwards was on the village green. The party was simple but festive, with punch, cakes and wildflowers creating a happy atmosphere. Ladies gathered in groups delicately eating sweets, while children tumbled across the lawn, enjoying an afternoon of play. Camille and Antoine, however, did not feel part of the celebration.

Starting point is 00:38:53 She stayed at his side, stiffly nodding to the villages, who had once been so kind to her. The welcoming people who had taught her to garden and bake years ago were now standing at a distance, whispering behind their hands and nodding knowingly in her direction. Not one neighbour had a polite word for Antoine, who smiled at all and said nothing wishing for the party to end, they overheard two men speaking nearby. He may have money, one sent with a smirk, but he'll never convince anyone to marry him with a face like that. The other man laughed.

Starting point is 00:40:11 It's a sad state of affairs when you have to court your own maid, he responded. Those words were the last straw. Camille put down her punch and walked to the center of the gathering. Ters me announcing that she had something to say and that everyone must listen. I convinced the Baron to come with me because I thought you to be good people, she said. I was sure that his fine character and his kindness would make it obvious to you all that he is not the beast people make him out to be. Well, I'm ashamed to say that I was wrong.

Starting point is 00:41:08 None of you are worthy of his notice. We will trouble you no longer. Let me tell you this, Antoine is a better man than any other here. I would choose him as a companion over every single one of you a hundred times over and that's the truth. The company was completely silent, looking in bewilderment from Camille to Antoine and back again. As she turned to face him, she saw the strangest thing, where he had stood. A handsome, dignified man stood smiling gratefully in her direction. No matter how many times she tried to adjust her view or clear her head, his visage did not change. The excess of facial hair, the overly prominent features, and the massive proportions would not return.

Starting point is 00:42:32 He was as handsome as any man should know, and that did not change. And whether it was a shift in perspective or the workings of an enchantment, the other people at the party seemed to be going at Camille as if nothing in the world was a mix. It was as if the entire like they'd never seen a beast in their company. It was both baffling and miraculous. A veil had been lifted for good. This quiet moment of triumph was how Antoine finally was released from his enchantment. All these years he had been seeking answers in his library, researching the wisdom of humanity, but he had misunderstood the woman who had cursed him. Those lonely decades of becoming kinder, more generous, and more forgiving had created in him the humanity that had won Camille's heart.

Starting point is 00:44:33 That was the missing piece that had freed him from his curse. Not long after, Camille and Antoine sat together under the pergola in his garden, admiring his mother's rose-bush, which was blooming abundantly once again. Twilight was descending upon the shadow and the crickets were emerging to serenade the world as the happy pair enjoyed the balmy summer evening. Camille considered this glad new Antoine, appreciating his handsome face, so long hidden behind the guise of the beast. As she watched, he sat up straighter and reached into his pocket. Pulling out the very ring she had secretly admired in his mother's dresser. You were the only person who took the trouble to get to know me as I really was, he said to her. Then in his way he fell back to a quote from one of his many books.

Starting point is 00:46:13 As Copernicus said, in the middle of everything is the sun. You have become that sun to me. Winking at her, he added, after all, I think you have adequately demonstrated that you are more than qualified to manage this shadow. Camille laughed and nodded her agreement, allowing him to slip the sparkling blue gem onto her finger. Gazing at it in wonder, she remembered the moment she had first seen it in the mysterious bedroom, among the fine dresses and the other jewels. It winked at her in the sunlight as if to communicate a precious secret. it. She would now be part of the history of this house. Before the end of the summer Antoine and Camille exchanged their vows in the courtyard of the shadow, surrounded by the heavenly scent of the flowering rose bushes, and the sweet song of the birds from the tree tops.

Starting point is 00:47:58 As they stood in the shadow of the house, Camille looked at Antoine with a great full heart and felt a strong sense of belonging. In a place she had arrived just a year ago. Through kindness, patience, and the search for wisdom, she and Antoine had also found happiness. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room.

Starting point is 00:52:36 I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. I'm going to go back to the next room. ... ... ... ... ... ... you you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Beauty and the Beast: Part 3

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