Excerpt fromBeauty and the BeastBy: Kirk Wise & Gary Trousdale(RL10.4)(1)Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a splendid castle deep in the forest. He had everything his heartdesired. But despite his wealth and possessions, he was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. One bitter winter night, an enchantress, disguisedas anold beggar woman, appeared at the castle gate and asked for shelter from the cold. In return, she offered the prince a singlebeautiful rose. Repulsed by herhaggardappearance, the prince told her to go away.“Do not be deceived by appearances,” she told him, but he refused to let her in. As punishment for his selfishness, the enchantresstransformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Before leaving, the enchantresshanded the rose to the prince. “This rose will bloom until your twenty-first year,” she said. “During that time, you must learn to loveanother. If you also earn her love by the time the last petal falls, the spell will be broken. If not, you will remain a beast forever!”The prince concealed himself in his castle, hiding his ugliness from the outside.
