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?
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