ˌBeauty and the ˈBeast BrE AmE
an old story about a beautiful young girl called Beauty, who is forced to live with a frightening creature called the Beast. She dreams about a beautiful prince, but the Beast loves her and she gradually begins to care about him too. He continually asks her to marry him, and when she finally agrees, he magically becomes the beautiful prince that he used to be. This story has often been made into films, including one by Walt Disney, and in the UK many ↑ pantomime s are based on it.