Happy Halloween 2016: A Tale As Old As Time

Happy Halloween from the W. family!

This year brings the fifth installment in our Halloween tales! (Past years: 2012 Snow White; 2013 The Little Mermaid; 2014 Peter Pan & 2015 Tangled)

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful girl named Belle.

She was the most beautiful girl in town.

However, her fellow villagers considered her "odd" because she always had her nose in a book.

Despite her bookworm tendencies, her beauty caught the eye of the town heartthrob. He was as conceited as he was handsome, and he was sure that Belle would jump at the chance to be his wife.

Belle, however, had much bigger dreams for herself and found Gaston and his chauvinistic attitude less than desirable.

Meanwhile, in a castle out in the woods, there lived a handsome young prince who had been cursed to live as a monstrous beast unless he could earn the love of another by his 21st birthday.

The life of a cursed beast was a lonely one.

The Beast was angry at his lot in life and spent a lot of time roaring ferociously.

One day, the Beast caught Belle's father trespassing in his castle after becoming lost in the woods. Belle came to rescue her father from the Beast's tower, and offered herself in exchange. And so, Belle came to live with the Beast in his castle.

The Beast and Belle got off to a rocky start, but Belle was quickly befriended by some of the enchanted castle servants, including a candlestick named Lumiere and a clock named Cogsworth.

Realizing that this could be the Beast's opportunity to find true love and break the spell, the castle servants did their best to bring Belle and the Beast together. Soon, a friendship began to form.

The Beast even gave Belle her very own library, with more books than she had ever seen!

Before too long, Belle and the Beast were sharing a lovely evening of dancing in the castle's grand ballroom.

It was a magical evening.

It was quite obvious that love was growing between Belle and the Beast.

The Beast was so happy to have a companion!

Meanwhile, back in the village, Gaston was fuming over Belle's rejection of his marriage proposal. Feeling threatened by the Beast, he stormed the castle and an epic battle began between man and Beast.

After besting Gaston, the Beast growled at him to leave the castle and never return. Thinking he had defeated his opponent, the Beast turned to Belle, only to be stabbed in the back by Gaston. Gaston lost his footing and fell from the castle, leaving the wounded Beast in Belle's arms.

As the Beast lay wounded, Belle embraced him and whispered, "I love you."

Those words were all that was needed to break the spell! Before her very eyes, Belle's Beast transformed into a handsome prince.

And so, Belle and her Prince lived happily ever after!

Happy Halloween, friends!