What was the original beauty and the beast story?

The original story of Beauty and the Beast was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve. In this original novella length tale, the back-story of both Belle and the Beast is given. The Beast was a young prince who lost his father, and whose mother had to wage war to defend his kingdom.

When she was little everybody admired her, and called her "The little Beauty;" so As suggested by the book's title, the tale "Beauty and the Beast" is a story "Belle et la Bête et son auteur," including a reproduction of the original French text.

It was influenced by Ancient Greek stories such as "Cupid and Psyche" from The Golden Ass, written by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis in the 2nd century AD, and · A Retelling of the Story of...