Once upon a time, in a faraway land there lay a tiny kingdom. Peaceful, yet prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. This kingdom was ruled by the noble King Edward and his fair Queen Jane. Together they ruled justly and fairly and everyone in the kingdom was happy.
Edward and Jane had a son, Adam, and although he was born of the kindhearted King and Queen, he shared none of their inner beauty. He was spoiled, rude, and unkind to all. The King and Queen tried to teach their son the ways of the kingdom until one day, a horrible illness, only known as the Black Fever swept through the land. Many people fell victim to the Black Fever and lost their lives, including the King and Queen.
With no other heir, Adam ascended to the throne and the kingdom soon fell into poverty and despair, for all of their money was squandered on the selfish prince's fancies, for which he was never satisfied.
Life in the kingdom remained bleak for many years until one cold winter's night, an old beggar woman, suffering from the Black Fever came to the castle and offered the prince a single red rose in exchange for shelter from the bitter winter air.
Repulsed by her hideous appearance and sickly body, the prince sneered at the rose and turned the old woman away, but she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for true beauty is found within, and yet the prince still refused to let her in.
Finally the old woman told the prince that the rose she carried was truly an enchanted rose which would bring prosperity and happiness back to the kingdom, but still the prince only laughed and slammed the castle door in her face.
Suddenly, the castle doors flew open and the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful Enchantress. The prince dropped to his knees and begged her for forgiveness, but it was too late, for she already saw that his heart showed none of the kindness that his mother and father shared and was colder than the cold winter snow. As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous Beast and placed a terrible spell on the castle and all who lived there.
Ashamed of his monstrous form, the prince locked himself in his castle with nothing but a magic mirror that the Enchantress left behind as his only window to the outside to the Enchantress's word, the rose was truly enchanted, but now instead of bringing peace and happiness, it would bloom for many years, until the prince's twenty first year. If he could learn to love another, and earn their love in return before the last petal fell then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast forever.
As the years went by, he fell into despair and lost all hope, for he already knew that no one could ever learn to love such a beast as him.
Slowly, the rose dropped a petal.