Beauty and the Beast
On upon a time, a young Prince lived in a shinning castle. The prince's name was Prince Bankotsu. One cold night an old beggar woman arrived, offering him a single rose in return for shelter from the cold. Repulsed by her ugliness, he turned her away. Suddenly she transformed into a beautiful enchantress.
To punish the Prince Bankotsu, she turned him into a hideous beast. Then she gave him a magic mirror and the enchanted rose, telling him it would bloom until his twenty-first year. To break the spell, he must love another and earn that person's love in return before the last petal fell.
Nearby, in a small village, a beautiful young woman named Kagome hurried through town. She greeted the townspeople and then rushed to her favorite shop- the bookstore. The owner gave her a book as a gift.
A dreamy looked crossed Kagome's face. "It's my favorite! Far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, and a prince in disguise….Oh, thank you very much!" Kagome rushed outside, reading as she walked.
As Kagome walked, a handsome hunter named Inuyasha ran after her. "Kagome, the whole town's talking about you. It's not right for a woman to read! It's about time you got your nose out of those books and paid attention to more important things-like me."
Kagome tired to get away without being rude, but Inuyaha's friend Miruko joined them and began to insult her father, an inventor. "My father's not crazy! He's a genius!" As Kagome spoke, an explosion boomed from her father's cottage and she took off running.
At the cottage, Kagome found her father and told him what the villagers were saying about her. "They think I'm odd, Papa."
"Don't worry, Kagome. My invention's going to change everything for us. We won't have to live in this little town forever!" Kagome's father hitched up their horse, Philippe, and set off for the fair with his new invention. Kagome waved. "Good-bye! Good luck!"
But Maurice, kagome's father, got lost and accidentally led Philippe into a bleak, misty forest. As he paused to get his bearing, Maurice saw two yellow eyes staring out of the darkness. It was a wolf! Philippe reared and bolted away. Terrified, Maurice ran through the forest with the wolves racing behind him. When he reached a tall, heavy gate, Maurice dashed inside, slamming the gate on the wolf whose sharp teeth snapped at his legs.
Still trembling, Maurice turned to see a huge, forbidding castle. "Hello? I've lost my horse, and I need a place to stay for the night."
"Of course, Monsieur! You are welcome here!" Maurice whirled around. There was no one in sight! Then he looked down and saw a mantle clock with a stern, frowning face. Beside him stood smiling candelabra! Maurice grabbed the clock and examined it. "This is impossible. Why –you're alive!" The enchantress had also turned all the prince's servants into household objects.
As Cogsworth the mantle clock protested, Lumiere, the candelabra showed Maurice into the drawing room. There he met a friendly teapot named Mrs. Potts and her son, a cute teacup named Chip. Suddenly, the door flew open. A voice boomed. "There's a stranger here…."
Maurice jumped out of his chair. In the shadows lurked a large, hulking figure. "Please….I need a place to stay…" begged Maurice.
"I'll give you a place to stay!" The beast grabbed Maurice and dragged him out of the room.
Back at home at the cottage, Kagome heard a knock at the door and opened it. "Inuyasha! What a pleasant surprise!"
"Kagome there's not a girl in town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes. Do you know why? Kagome, I want you to marry me!"
"Inuyasha, I'm speechless! I'm sorry, but….but…I just don't deserve you!" As Inuyasha left he tripped and fell in the mud. When Kagome peeked out, she saw that the villagers had gathered in her yard hoping to see a wedding. The vicar and all Inuyasha's friends saw him humiliated!
After the villagers and very angry Inuyasha left, Kagome ran outside to feed the chickens. There she found Philippe, alone. "Philippe! What are you doing here? Where's Papa?"
The horse whinnied anxiously. Frightened, Kagome leaped onto Philippe and returned to the mysterious forest. Soon, they found the castle. "What is this place?" Kagome tired to steady Philippe. Then she saw Maurice's hat on the ground! Kagome hurried inside the gloomy castle and wandered down the vast, deserted corridors. "Papa? Are you here? It's Kagome." No one replied, but Kagome didn't know that the Enchanted Objects had seen her.
With joy, Lumiere danced around the mantle clock. "Don't you see? She's the one! She has come to break the spell!" Without noticing them, Kagome continued to search for her father
That night, Kagome refused to dine with the beast. Instead, she crept down-stairs to the kitchen. All the Enchanted Objects fed and entertained her. Then Cosgworth agreed to take her on tour. Kagome halted beneath a darkened staircase. "What's up there?" she asked curiously
"Nothing, absolutely nothing of interest at all in the West Wing." But when Cogswroth wasn't looking, Kagome slipped away and raced up the staircase to a long hallway lined with broken mirrors. Kagome cautiously opened
the doors at the end of the corridor and entered a dank, filthy room strewn with broken furniture, torn curtains, and gray gnawed bones. The only living object was a rose, shimmering beneath a glass dome. Entranced, Kagome lifted the cover and reached out to touch one soft, pink petal. She did not hear the Beast enter the room.
"I warned you never to come here!" the Beast advanced on Kagome. "GET OUT! GET OUT!!"Terrified by his rage, she turned and ran. Kagome rushed past Cogsworth and Lumiere as she fled the castle. "Promise or no promise, I can't stay here another minute!" She found Philippe and they galloped through the snow until they met a pack of fierce, hungry wolves. Terrified, the horse reared and Kagome fell to the ground. When Kagome tried to defend Philippe, the wolves turned on her, snarling. Suddenly, a large paw pulled the animals off her. It was the Beast!
As Kagome struggled to her feet, the wolves turned and attacked the beast, growling fiercely. With ferocious howl, the beast flung off his attackers. As the surprised wolves ran off into the woods, the beast collapsed, wounded. Kagome knew that this was her chance to escape, but when she looked at the Beast, she could not leave him. "Here, lean up against Philippe. I'll help you back to the castle." Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Miruko were plotting to have Maurice put in Mr. D'Arque's insane asylum unless Kagome agreed to marry Inuyasha.
At the castle, Kagome cleaned the Beast's wounds and thanked him for saving her life. Later, she was quite surprised when he showed her a beautiful library. "I can't believe it! I've never seen so many books in my life!" she said very happily. The Beast smiled for the first time. "Then it's yours." That evening, Mrs. Potts and the other objects watched Kagome read a story to the Beast. They were filled with hope that the Beast and Kagome were falling in love.
Gradually, the mood in the castle began to change. Kagome and the Beast read together, dined together, and played in the snow together. They even had a snowball fight! When Kagome watched the big, awkward Beast try to feed the some birds, she realized that he had a kind heart, gentle side to him-something that she hadn't seen before. In turn, the Beast began to hope that Kagome would begin to care for him. He tidied his room, bathed, and dressed up for the evening. He was overjoyed when Kagome taught him how to dance.
That evening the Beast asked Kagome if she was happy.
"Yes. I only wish I could see my father. I miss him so much."
"There is a way." The Beast showed Kagome the magic mirror. In it, she saw her father lost in the woods, ill from his search for her. When the Beast saw the unhappy look on Kagome's face, he decided to let her go, even if it meant he would never be human again. Before Kagome left, ha handed her the magic mirror. "Take it with you so you'll always have a way to look back and remember me."
Heartbroken, the Beast watched as Kagome rode off on the Philippe. When she found her poor father in the forest, Kagome brought him home to their cottage so she could nurse him back to health. But almost as soon as they arrived, a tall, thin man knocked on the door. It was Mr. D'Arque! He had come to take her father to an insane asylum! "No I won't let you!" Kagome blocked the way. Miruko had also convinced the villagers that Maurice was crazy because he was raving like a lunatic about some terrible beast!
Inuyasha put his arm around Kagome. "I can clear up this little misunderstanding-if you marry me. Just say yes."
"I'll never marry you! My father's not crazy. I can prove it!" kagome showed them the Beast in the magic mirror. "He's not vicious. He's really kind and gentle." Enraged, inuyasha shouted. "She's as crazy as the old man! I say we
kill the Beast!" The mob of villagers locked Kagome and her father in the cellar and stormed the Beast's castle.
As the villagers battled the Enchanted Objects, Inuyasha forced the Beast who didn't even try to resist. "Get up! Or are you too 'kind and gentle' to fight back?"
"Stop!" chip had helped Kagome and Maurice escape from the cellar. When the Beast saw Kagome, he grabbed Inuyasha by the throat. But his love for Kagome had made him too human. He let go of Inuyasha and faced Kagome. Without warning, Inuyasha stabbed the Beast in his back! The Beast roared. Inuyasha stepped back-and tumbled off the roof to his death.
Wounded, the Beast gazed at Kagome before he collapsed. She ran to him and held him in her arms. "No! Please! I love you!" she shouted with tears coming down her face. Suddenly, the rain began to shimmer. Slowly the Beast opened his eyes and in astonishment, he watched his paws transform into hands. He held them out to Kagome. "Kagome, it's me!"
Kagome hesitated and looked into his eyes. "It is you!"
Prince Bankotsu drew her close and kissed her. Then they watched happily as Cogsworth, Lumiere, Chip, Mrs. Potts, and all the other servants once again became human. True love had finally broken the spell, and everyone danced for joy.