To Love a Beast

She offered him a single rose to stay the night inside, But he a prince, and she a hag, the Prince her rose denied. He thus began to close the door, retreating to his space, But the old hag’s repulsiveness then melted from her face. The Prince tried to apologize, for with his eyes he saw A beauty unsurpassed that left him standing there in awe. A true enchantress was the hag; she’d issued him a test, But he had failed, for he would not admit her as a guest. A curse she placed upon him then, that changed would be his form, And as a beast he’d live until his heart he could reform. If his own selfishness he beat and he to love could learn, His freedom from his beastly state the Prince could one day earn. His curse brought him despair, and harsh it was to say the least; He lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?