Alan Menken – Main Title: Prologue, Pt. 2 lyrics

Then one night, an unexpected intruder arrived to the castle
Seeking shelter from the bitter storm
As a gift, she offered the prince a single rose

Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince turned the woman away
But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances
For beauty is found within

When he dismissed her again, the old woman's outer appearance melted away
To reveal a beautiful enchantress

The prince begged for forgiveness, but it was too late
For she had seen that there was no love in his heart

As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast
And placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there

As day bled into years, the prince and his servants were forgotten by the world
For the enchantress had erased all memory of them from the minds of the people they loved

But the rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose
If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell
The spell would be broken
If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time

As the years passed, he felt into despair and lost all hope
For who could ever learn to love a beast?