Once upon a time, in a far away 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 twenty-first 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