Deep in the French countryside, there lived a handsome young prince; but he was selfish and unkind.  One day he was visited by an old, beggar woman who offered him a single rose for some shelter from the cold.  The prince was repulsed by her appearance, and he turned her away.  She warned him not to be fooled by appearances; that beauty was found on the inside.  But the prince once again turned her away, and the old woman turned into a beautiful Enchantress.  The prince begged her forgiveness, but she had seen that he had no love in his heart.  She turned him into a hideous beast and placed a spell on the castle and all those that lived there.  The beast was ashamed of his monstrous appearance, and he hid himself in his castle with only a magic mirror with which to see the outside world.  The rose the Enchantress had offered him was an enchanted rose which would bloom until his twenty-first birthday.  If he could learn to love another and have her love him in return before the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken.  If not...he would remain a beast forever.  As the years past, he felt hopeless...for who could learn to love a beast?

In a nearby village lived a beautiful young girl named Belle.  She lived with her father, Maurice in a small cottage.  Belle loved to read books about adventure and romance.  The town's villagers loved Belle, but they thought she was odd because she loved to read so much.  But Gaston, the hunter didn't care whether Belle was peculiar or not, he thought she was beautiful.  He vowed to make Belle his wife.  But Belle had no plans to marry Gaston, she thought he was rude and conceited. 

Belle's father, Maurice was an inventor, and soon he was off to the fair to show off his latest invention.  But along the way, he and his horse, Philippe got lost in the woods.  Maurice found shelter at the gloomy castle, where he met the Beast's servants, which had been turned into enchanted objects by the Enchantress's spell.  There was Cogsworth, the clock; and Lumiere, the candlestick.  Maurice soon found that they loved to argue.  Then there was Mrs. Potts, the housekeeper, and her son, Chip - the little teacup.  Maurice was fond of him.  And...of course, there was the Feather Duster and the Footstool.  Finding warmth and comfort in the huge castle, Maurice didn't notice the Beast enter the room.  Furious that he was in his castle, the Beast threw Maurice into the dungeon. 

Meanwhile, Philippe returned to the cottage alone.  Worried, Belle climbed onto the horse, and they galloped back to the castle where Philippe had left Maurice.  Belle finds her father in a dungeon inside the gloomy castle.  She begs the Beast to let him go; she tells him she will stay in her father's place.  Inside the castle, Belle is comforted by her new friends, as well as entertained.   Her enchanted friends take her for a tour of the castle, and she ventures off to the West Wing; the one place the Beast forbade her to go.  She finds the enchanted rose there...and the Beast.  Angry, he snatches the rose from her hands and tells her to leave.  Belle and Philippe escape the Beast and his castle only to find themselves confronted by hungry wolves.  Back at the castle, Belle mends the Beast's wounded arm.  For the first time, they speak kind words to each other.  Belle thanks the Beast for saving her life. 

Beast wanted to do something nice for Belle, so he took her to his wonderful library; and he tells her that it's hers.  Belle is thrilled!  As Belle and the Beast spend more time together...Belle realizes that this Beast isn't cruel at all.  He's kind and gentle.  Even the servants realize that there's definitely "something there that wasn't there before". 

Belle grew fonder of the Beast, and she learned to trust him.  But Belle missed her father and longed to see him. Beast took her to his room and handed her the magic mirror.  Belle held up the mirror and saw her father.  He was sick, and Belle told Beast that she must go to him.  Beast let Belle go, even though he knew that it meant that the spell would never be broken; but he had to...for he loved her. 

Belle and Philippe galloped away from the castle and hurried back to her father's cottage.  When Belle arrived at the cottage, she found Gaston there waiting for her.  Her father had told them about the Beast, and everyone thought he was crazy.  In desperation, Belle showed Gaston the Beast through the magic mirror.  Gaston led the angry mob to the castle where he found the Beast.  They fought on the rooftop, where Belle begged Gaston to stop.  Gaston stabbed the Beast, and then lost his footing and fell to his death. 

Belle rushed to the Beast's side and fell to her knees.  "You came back", he whispered to Belle.  Then something started to happen.  Belle sat back and watched as the Beast was lifted up and transformed into a handsome prince.  "Belle, it's me!" the young prince said.  Belle looked into his eyes, and she saw the eyes of the Beast, whom she'd fallen in love with.  The spell had been broken!   And with that, the servants were transformed back into humans.  And Belle and her Prince lived happily ever after.

The End!