Underneath the huge Paris Opera House was a dark lake. In the middle of the lake was an island, and on the island lived the lonely Phantom.
The Phantom had a face that looked horrible and ugly, so he wore a mask all the time and hid himself away from the world. However, under the mask was a lonely soul with a great love of music.
Late at night, the Phantom often stood behind a secret wall and sang to a beautiful opera singer, Christine, with his magical voice. Since Christine couldn’t see him, she thought that he was an angel.
One day, the managers of the opera house found a note from the Phantom. He asked them to give Christine the leading role in an upcoming opera. The managers thought that the note was a joke, because they had never seen the Phantom. They didn’t even believe he was real.
However, on the night of the opera, strange things started to happen. First, one of the best opera singers lost her voice during the performance. Then, a man was killed. Before the opera ended, a large chandelier suddenly fell from the ceiling. Everyone in the opera house was horrified, including the managers. They finally realized that the Phantom was not joking. They gave in, letting Christine play the lead in another opera.
Although the Phantom loved Christine deeply, she was already in love with a handsome young man named Raoul. During Christine’s performance, the Phantom suddenly took her off the stage so that he could have her all to himself. As Christine struggled to escape from the Phantom, she pulled off his mask and his face was finally seen in public. The Phantom’s eyes were yellow, and his nose was missing. He did not look like an angel at all!
Raoul quickly followed the Phantom to save Christine. The Phantom, unfortunately, captured Raoul and tried to kill him. Christine then begged for Raoul’s life. She told the Phantom that she was horrified not by his face, but by his evil heart. However, the loneliness in his eyes made her feel sad for him. Much to the Phantom’s surprise, Christine kissed his face. Tears of joy rolled down the Phantom’s cheeks, and the loneliness he had experienced over the years was all washed away. In the end, the Phantom let Raoul and Christine go. The Phantom then disappeared, and his magical voice was never heard in the Paris Opera House again.
― Adapted from “The Phantom of the Opera,” from Oxford Junior English 3, 3rd
edition, by P. Etherton & G. McArthur, published by Oxford University Press in 1999
