Once upon a time, in a
faraway land,
a young prince lived in a shining
castle.
Although he had everything
his heart desired, the prince was spoiled,
selfish, and unkind.
But then, one winter's night,
an old beggar woman came to the castle and
offered him a single rose in return for shelter
from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard
appearance, the prince sneered
at the gift
and turned the old woman
away.
But she warned him not to be
deceived by appearances,
for beauty is found within.
And when he dismissed her
again, the old woman's ugliness melted away
to reveal a beautiful enchantress.
The prince tried to apologize, but it was too
late, for she had
seen that there was no love in his heart. And
as punishment, she transformed him into a
hideous beast and placed a powerful
spell on the castle and all
who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form,
the beast
concealed himself inside his castle, with a
magic mirror as
his only window to the outside world.
The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted
rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. If
he could
learn to love another, and earn her love in
return by the
time the last petal fell, then the spell would
be broken.
If not, he would be doomed to remain a
beast
for all time. As the years passed, he fell into
despair
and lost all hope. For who could ever learn
to
love a
beast?
-Beauty & The Beast
