Once
upon a time, a young Prince lived in a shining castle. One cold night an old
beggar woman arrived, offering him a single rose in return for shelter from the
cold. Repulsed by her ugliness, he turned her away. Suddenly she transformed
into a beautiful enchantress.
To Punish the Prince, she turned him into a
hideous beast. Then she gave him a magic mirror and the enchanted rose, telling
him it would bloom until his twenty-first year. To break the spell, he must love
another and earn that person’s love in return before the last petal fell.
Nearby, in a small village, a beautiful young
woman named Belle hurried through town. She greeted the townspeople and then
rushed to her favorite shop - the bookstore. The owner gave her a book as a
gift.
A dreamy look crossed Belle’s face. "It’s
my favorite! Far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in
disguise ... Oh, thank you very much!"
A dreamy look crossed Belle’s face. "It’s
my favorite! Far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in
disguise ... Oh, thank you very much!"
Belle rushed outside, reading as she walked.
As Belle walked, a handsome hunter named Gaston
ran after her. "Belle, the whole town’s talking about you. It’s not
right for a woman to read! It’s about time you got your nose out of those
books and paid attention to more important things - like me."
Belle tried to get away without being rude, but
Gaston’s friend LeFou joined them and began to insult her father, an inventor.
"My father’s not crazy! He’s a
genius!" As Belle spoke, an explosion boomed from her father’s cottage
and she took off running.
At the cottage, Belle found her father and told
him what the villagers were saying about her. "They think I’m odd,
Papa."
"Don’t worry, Belle. My invention’s going
to change everything for us. We won’t have to live in this little town
forever!"
Belle’s father hitched up their horse, Philippe,
and set off for the fair with his new invention.
Belle waved. "Good-bye! Good luck!"
But Maurice got lost and accidentally led Philippe
into a bleak, misty forest. As he paused to get his bearings, Maurice saw two
yellow eyes staring out of the darkness. It was a wolf! Philippe reared and
bolted away. Terrified, Maurice ran through the forest with the wolves racing
behind him. When he reached a tall heavy gate, Maurice dashed inside, slamming
the gate on the wolf whose sharp teeth snapped at his leg.
Still trembling, Maurice turned to see a huge,
forbidding castle. "Hello? I’ve lost my horse, and I need a place to stay
for the night."
"Of course, Monsieur! You are welcome
here!" Maurice whirled around. There was no one in sight! Then he looked
down and saw a mantel clock with a stern, frowning face. Beside him stood a
smiling candelabra! Maurice grabbed the clock and examined it.
"This is impossible. Why - you’re
alive!" The enchantress had also turned all the Prince’s servants into
household objects.
As Cogsworth the mantel clock protested, Lumiere,
the candelabra showed Maurice into the drawing room. There he met a friendly
teapot named Mrs. Potts and her son, a cute teacup named Chip. Suddenly, the
door flew open. A voice boomed. "There’s a stranger here..."
Maurice jumped out of his chair. In the shadows
lurked a large, hulking figure. "Please... I need a place to stay..."
"I’ll give you a place to stay!" The
Beast grabbed Maurice and dragged him out of the room.
Back home at the cottage, Belle heard a knock at
the door and opened it. "Gaston! What a ‘pleasant’ surprise!"
"Belle, there’s not a girl in town who
wouldn’t love to be in your shoes. Do you know why? Because I want to marry
you!"
"Gaston, I’m speechless! I’m sorry,
but... but... I just don’t deserve you!" As Gaston left he tripped and
fell in the mud. When Belle peeked out, she saw that the villagers had gathered
in her yard hoping to see a wedding. The vicar and all Gaston’s friends saw
him humiliated!
After the villagers and a very angry Gaston left,
Belle ran outside to feed the chickens. There she found Philippe, alone.
"Philippe! What are you doing here? Where’s Papa?"
The horse whinnied anxiously. Frightened, Belle
leaped onto Philippe and returned to the mysterious forest. Soon, they found the
castle.
"What is this place?" Belle tried to
steady Philippe. Then she saw Maurice’s hat on the ground.
Belle hurried inside the gloomy castle and
wandered down the vast, deserted corridors. Papa? Are you here? It’s
Belle." No one replied, but Belle didn’t know that the Enchanted Objects
had seen her.
With joy, Lumiere danced around the mantel clock.
"Don’t you see? She’s the one! She has come to break the spell!"
Without noticing them, Belle continued to search
for her father.
Finally, Belle discovered Maurice locked in a
tower. "Papa! We have get you out of there!" Suddenly she heard a
voice from the shadows.
"What’re you doing here?"
Belle gasped. "Please let my father go. Take
me instead!"
"You would take his place?"
Belle asked the voice to step into the light and
was horrified when she saw the huge, ugly Beast. To save her father, however,
Belle agreed to stay in the Beast’s castle forever.
The Beast dragged Maurice out of the castle and
threw him into a carriage that would return him to town. There, the inventor
stumbled into a tavern where Gaston was surrounded by his friends. "Please,
I need your help! A horrible beast has Belle locked in a dungeon!"
"Did it have cruel, sharp fangs?" One
villager sneered.
Maurice grabbed the man’s coat. "Yes! Yes!
Will you help me out?"
"We’ll help you out, old man." Gaston
and his pals tossed the inventor out of the tavern. But Maurice’s wild story
gave Gaston an idea.
At the castle, Belle nervously followed the Beast
upstairs. He paused for a moment. "The castle is your home now, so you can
go anywhere you like except the West Wing."Belle stared back.
"What’s the West Wing?"
"It’s forbidden!" Glaring, the Beast
opened the door to her room. "You will join me for dinner. That’s not a
request!"
After the Beast stomped off, Belle flung herself
on the bed. "I’ll never escape from this prison - or see my father
again!"
That night, Belle refused to dine with the Beast.
Instead, she crept downstairs to the kitchen. All the Enchanted Objects fed and
entertained her. Then Cogsworth agreed to take her on a tour.
Belle halted beneath a darkened staircase.
"What’s up there?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing of interest at
all in the West Wing."
But when Cogsworth wasn’t looking, Belle slipped
away and raced up the staircase to a long hallway lined with broken mirrors.
Belle cautiously opened the doors at the end of
the corridor and entered a dank, filthy room strewn with broken furniture, torn
curtains, and gray, gnawed bones. The only living object was a rose, shimmering
beneath a glass dome. Entranced, Belle lifted the cover and reached out to touch
one soft, pink petal. She did not hear the Beast enter the room.
"I warned you never to come here!" The
Beast advanced on Belle. "GET OUT! GET OUT!!" Terrified by his rage,
she turned and ran.
Belle rushed past Cogsworth and Lumiere as she
fled the castle. "Promise or not promise, I can’t stay here another
minute!"
She found Philippe and they galloped through the
snow until they met a pack of fierce, hungry wolves. Terrified, the horse reared
and Belle fell to the ground. When Belle tried to defend Philippe, the wolves
turned on her, snarling.
Suddenly, a large paw pulled the animals off her.
It was the Beast.
As Belle struggled to her feet, the wolves turned
and attacked the Beast growling fiercely. With a ferocious howl, the Beast flung
off his attackers. As the surprised wolves ran off into the woods, the Beast
collapsed, wounded.
Belle knew that this was her chance to escape, but
when she looked at the fallen Beast, she could not leave him. "Here, lean
against Philippe. I’ll help you back to the castle."
Meanwhile, Gaston the LeFou were plotting to have
Maurice put in Mr. D’Arque’s insane asylum unless Belle agreed to marry
Gaston.
At the Castle, Belle cleaned the Beast’s wounds
and the thanked him for saving her life. Later, she was quite surprised when he
showed her a beautiful library. "I can’t believe it! I’ve never seen so
many books in all my life!"
The Beast smiled for the first time. "Then
it’s yours!"
That evening, Mrs. Potts and the other objects
watched Belle read a story to the Beast. They were filled with hope that the
Beast and Belle were falling in love.
Gradually, the mood in the castle began to change.
Belle and the Beast read together, dined together, and played together in the
snow. They even had a snowball fight! When Belle watched the big, awkward Beast
try to feed some birds, she realized that he had a king, gentle side to him -
something that she hadn’t seen before. In turn, the Beast began to hope that
Belle would begin to care for him. He tidied his room, bathed and dressed up for
the evening. He was overjoyed when Belle taught him how to dance.
That evening, the Beast asked Belle if she was
happy.
"Yes. I only wish I could see my father. I
miss him so much."
"There is a way." The Beast showed Belle
the magic mirror. In it, she saw her father lost in the woods, ill from his
search for her. When the Beast saw the unhappy look on Belle’s face, he
decided to let her go, even if it meant he would never be human again. Before
Belle left, he handed her the magic mirror. "Take it with you so you’ll
always have a way to look back and remember me."
Heartbroken, the Beast watched as Belle rode off
on Philippe. When she found her poor father in the forest, Belle brought him
home to their cottage so she could nurse him back to health. But almost as soon
as they arrived, a tall, thin man knocked on the door. It was Mr. D’Arque! He
had come to take her father to an insane asylum!
"No! I won’t let you!" Belle blocked
the way.
LeFou had also convinced the villagers that
Maurice was crazy because he was raving like a lunatic about some terrible
beast. Gaston put his arm around Belle. "I can clear up this little
misunderstanding - if you marry me. Just say yes."
"I’ll never marry you! My father’s not
crazy. I can prove it!"
Belle showed them the Beast in the magic mirror.
"He’s not vicious. He’s really king and gentle."
Enraged, Gaston shouted. "She’s as crazy as
the old man! I say we kill the Beast!" The mob of villagers locked Belle
and her father in the cellar and stormed the Beast’s castle.
As the villagers battled the enchanted Objects,
Gaston forced the Beast onto the castle roof. He clubbed the Beast who didn’t
even try to resist. "Get up! Or are you too ‘kind and gentle’ to fight
back?"
"Stop!" Chip had helped Belle and
Maurice escape from the cellar. When the Beast saw Belle, he grabbed Gaston by
the throat. But his love for Belle had made him too human. He let Gaston go and
faced Belle. Gaston stepped back - and tumbled off the roof to his death.
Wounded, the Beast gazed at Belle before he
collapsed. She ran to him and help him her arms. "No! Please! I love
you!"
Suddenly, the rain began to shimmer. Slowly the
Beast opened his eyes and in astonishment, he watched his paws transform into
hands. He held them out to Belle. "Belle, it’s me!"
Belle hesitated and looked into his eyes. "It
is you!"
The Prince drew her close and kissed her. Then
they watched happily as Cogsworth, Lumiere, Chip, Mrs. Potts, and all the other
servants once again became human. True love had finally broken the spell, and
everyone danced for joy.
The End