月亮傑克的英文學習札記

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a
shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired,
the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one
winter's night, an old beggar woman 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 old woman away, but she warned him not
to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.
And when he dismissed her again, the old woman'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 no love in his heart, and as punishment, she
transformed him into a hideous 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 twenty-first
year. 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 not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for
all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost
all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?