Beauty and the Beast

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 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..........
Belle, a young woman living in a small French village, dreamed of "adventure in the great wide somewhere." She yearned for more out of life than the other people in her town. Yet, she was still stuck in a village filled with "poor, provincial" people, and dodging the egotistical, not-to-bright Gaston who wanted Belle for his wife. Gaston reasoned that since Belle was the most beautiful woman in town and he was the most handsome, therefore she should be his. One day Belle's father, and inventor named Maurice, set out for the fair to show off his latest invention. On the way to the fair, he took a wrong turn and found himself lost in the woods. Scared off by the wolves, his horse left him alone near a tall castle. Maurice, seeing no other alternatives, approached the building, and let himself in. He was quickly made at home by the strange "people" that he found within. The master of the castle, the Beast, was not so welcoming and was angered by Maurice's presence. He threw Maurice in the dungeon and swore that he would remain there as his prisoner...
Meanwhile, Belle was keeping busy with her reading...

until Gaston showed up with the announcement that today was her "lucky day." Gaston informed Belle that he had decided to marry her right then Belle managed to her Gaston out her house with the excuse that she "just didn't deserve" him. Gaston retreated to the tavern to plot another way to convince Belle to marry him and heal his wounded pride.
Belle, soon found herself occupied with more important problems than Gaston's determination to marry her. Philipe, her horse, returned without her father. Concerned for her father's safety Belle took set off in search of him. Philipe lead Belle straight to the Beast's castle where Belle found her father wasting away in the dungeon. Fearing for her father's life, Belle made a deal with the Beast. In return for her father's freedom, she would remain in the castle as his prisoner.
Belle quickly found herself welcomed by the Beast's servants which included the teapot (Mrs. Potts) and her son (Chip), Cogsworth (the Clock), and Lumiere (the Candle). Belle was also informed by the Beast of her restriction from the west wing. However curiosity soon got the better of Belle and she ventured into the west wing. She found the room to be in a total state of disarray. As she made he way towards the rose the Beast suddenly jumped out at her, stopping her from touching the enchanted flower. The enraged Beast, yelled at Belle for daring to venture into his lair.
Belle, frightened by the Beast's temper took off into the night. She hopped on Philipe and galloped away from the Beast's castle. Moments later she encountered a pack of wolves. The Wolves attacked Belle and her horse and corned her. The Beast, who was not far behind Belle, sprang upon the wolves and managed to fight them away from Belle and her frightened horse.
Exhausted by the effort, the Beast collapsed. Belle, grateful for the Beast's assistance, took the Beast back to the castle and tended to his wounds. After at first blaming each other for the incident, Belle thanked the Beast for saving her life and the two began to warm towards each other...
While Belle and the Beast were growing closer, Maurice sought help from the villagers to free his daughter from imprisonment in the Beast's castle. The villagers laughed at her father, calling him crazy, and not believing a word of his "wild" tales of a beast. Gaston, however saw possibilities in the situation and plotted to use Maurice to get to Belle. He arranged to Maurice thrown in the asylum unless Belle would agree to marry Gaston. Seeing that Maurice and Belle were not at home, Gaston stationed Lefou at their house to wait for their return.
Meanwhile, Belle found herself enjoying her stay at the Beast's castle.

Much to the servants delight Belle and the Beast grew closer and closer as the days went by. To show his love for Belle the Beast presented her with a gift, his library. Belle delighted by the gift, thanked the Beast.
The Beast then planned a special night for Belle. The two danced as the servants gleefully watching, fully expecting to be human again soon. As their night came to an end the Beast asked Belle if she was happy living with him. Belle assured him that she was... but she did miss her father and expressed her wish to see him again. The Beast took Belle back to the West Wing and showed her his magic mirror. Belle looked in the mirror and was shocked to see her that her father was very ill and near death. The Beast told Belle that she must return to him and help him. He then gave Belle the mirror so that she could always look back and remember him. Desperate to help her father Belle left the castle and a miserable Beast.
Belle quickly found her father and began nursing him back to health. Lefou, seeing that they had returned, sent for Gaston who arrived along with the villagers to take Maurice to the asylum. Belle refused to agree to Gaston's plan to release her father in exchange for marrying him. Desperate, Belle rushed back into the house and grabbed the mirror. She showed the villagers the Beast's image in the mirror as proof that he father wasn't crazy. Realizing that Belle had fallen in love with the Beast, Gaston convinced the villager to siege the castle and kill the Beast. Before leading the group to attack the Beast, Gaston locked Belle and her father in the cellar where the would be unable to help the Beast.
The Beast's servants, seeing the approaching mob, prepared for the attack. The fatalistic Beast simply said "let them come," nothing mattered to him now that he had lost Belle. The mob entered the castle to meet with the strange objects that they found within. As the servants battled the villagers, Gaston hunted throughout the castle to find the Beast.
Still trapped in the cellar, Belle feared for the Beast life. Chip, who had stowed away in Belle's bag, managed to free Belle and her father using one of Maurice's inventions. Belle then rushed off to save the Beast from the mob.
Back at the castle, the Beast's servants had soundly defeated the villagers. Gaston, however, was still lose in the castle and searching for the Beast. He found him in the west wing and attacked. The Beast, not caring for his life, allowed Gaston to attack him.

As Gaston prepared to deliver a final blow to the Beast, Belle arrived and shouted at Gaston to stop. The Beast, surprised and revitalized by Belle's return, suddenly sprung into action, battling a surprised Gaston to the edge of the castle.
Gaston, seeing that he was thoroughly defeated, pleaded with Beast for his life. The Beast let Gaston go and told him to leave and never return. Gaston agreed and the Beast rushed up the side of the castle to Belle. As the Beast blissfully greeted the returned Belle, Gaston stabbed the Beast in the side, taking his revenge for losing Belle's love to a "monster." Both the Beast and Gaston were thrown off balance. Belle reached forward grabbing the Beast and pulling him to safety as Gaston fell to his death.
Belle tried to convince herself and the Beast that everything would be all right since they were together again. The Beast simply said that maybe things would be better this way and that at last he had seen her one last time, and then died. A heartbroken Belle pleaded with the Beast not to leave her alone, and then confessed her love as the last petal fell from the rose.
As Belle cried over her fallen love, the rain began to change. As the drops fell a glow began to surround the Beast's body. Suddenly his body was lifted up into the air and began to change. A shocked Belle looked on in surprise as he changed into a human. His body was then returned to the ground. The man who had once been the Beast stood up and turned to face Belle. Realizing that this man was her Beast, Belle rushed to embrace him. The two happily looked on as the Beast's castle was returned to its former glory.
Belle, having broken the spell and returned the Beast and the Servants to their human forms, lived happily ever after with the Prince.
The End.