Once upon a garden, in a faraway corner, a young gnomeling lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the gnomeling was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's gnight, a simple eldergnome 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 eldergnome. But she warned him gnot to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old gnome'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 gno love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a fuzzy 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 21st season. 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 gnot, he would be doomed to remain fuzzy for all time. As the seasons passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?
PERSONAL GNOTE:
Taken from the introduction of the 1991 Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast
