"…The end," Belle finished with a satisfied sigh. It was only when she could hear the book close clearly that she realized that her companion was, for once in his life, silent.
"You know, it's rather rude to sit there and gape when someone just read you a story," she remarked, successfully pulling him out of his stupor.
"I don't understand. It's the most depressing ending I've ever heard," the Beast stated. "Orpheus' wife died on their wedding day. He managed to convince Hades to let him take her back, but Orpheus looked back for one second and killed her again. Then he had to spend the rest of his life in guilt. What's the point of a love story that ends so badly?"
Then it was Belle's turn to stare. "The point of a love story—any story, really—isn't a happy ending," she started patiently. "It's just a meaningful ending. Orpheus loved Eurydice so much that he begged the god of the dead to give her a second chance, which is wonderful, but that doesn't necessarily mean that things will work out. Sometimes one mistake can ruin everything. It doesn't mean that the sad ending is deserved; it means that fate doesn't work according to who deserves what, but it's worth putting up a fight anyway."
The Beast hesitated for just a second, seeming to consider it, before shaking his head profusely. "It doesn't seem worth all that trouble to me."
"Fine," Belle surrendered, though she was clearly disappointed. "But it did make you feel something, didn't it? That's what a story is supposed to do."
And with that, she left to put the book back on the shelf. He swiftly went to eat the dinner the objects had prepared, hoping that the fact that he was still thinking about the story didn't show.