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Rapunzel: the whole story
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Once upon a time, a man and his wife wished, more than anything, for a child.
Behind their house, over a high wall, was a beautiful garden. But nobody dared to go in, for it belonged to a witch called Dame Gothel.
One day, the wife saw a bed of fresh green leaves, called rapunzel, and she longed to eat them.
“Oh, husband! If I can’t have some of that rapunzel, I shall waste away!” said the wife.
So that night, her husband climbed over the wall, and picked her a handful. She liked it so much, that the next day, she wanted three times as much. So over the wall he went again.
But there, in front of him, stood the witch!
“How dare you creep into my garden, and steal my rapunzel, like a thief!” said the witch.
“Oh, please, have mercy! My wife wanted it so much,” said the man.
“Then take as much as you like,” said the witch. “But when your child is born, you must give it to me. I will care for it like a mother.”
The man was so frightened, that he said yes.
Soon a baby girl was born. The witch came at once, named her Rapunzel, and took her away. Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child under the sun, with long hair as fine as spun gold.
When she was twelve, the witch shut her up in a tower in the forest. It had no stairs and no door, only one little window, right at the top.
And whenever the witch wanted to come in, she stood below and called, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me!”
Down fell the golden hair, and up climbed the witch.
Some years later, a king’s son came riding through the forest. He heard someone singing so sweetly, that he stopped to listen. But he could find no door.
So he hid behind a tree, and watched.
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me!” called the witch.
“So that is the ladder! Then I will try my luck, too,” said the king’s son.
The next evening, the king’s son came back. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me!” he called.
Down fell the hair, and up climbed the king’s son.
At first, Rapunzel was frightened, for she had never seen a man before.
“Don’t be afraid. Your song was so beautiful, I had to find you,” said the king’s son.
Soon she was not frightened at all, and he asked her to marry him.
“Yes, I will!” said Rapunzel.
So he came every evening, for the old witch came by day.
The witch knew nothing about it, until one day, Rapunzel said, “Tell me, Dame Gothel, why are you so much heavier to pull up than the young king’s son? He is up here in a moment!”
“You wicked child! I thought I had hidden you from all the world, and yet you have tricked me!” said the witch.
In her anger, she took a pair of scissors, and snip, snap, cut off Rapunzel’s beautiful braid. Then she sent poor Rapunzel far away, to a wild and lonely land.
That evening, the witch waited by the window, with the cut braid. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me!” called the king’s son. Down came the braid, and up he climbed.
“Aha! You came for your darling,” said the witch. “But the beautiful bird is no longer singing in the nest. You will never see Rapunzel again!”
In his shock, the king’s son lost his hold, and tumbled down, down, into the thorn bushes below. The bushes broke his fall, but the thorns scratched his eyes, and he could not see.
For a long, long time, he wandered through the forest, eating roots and berries, and crying for Rapunzel. Until at last, he came to the wild and lonely land where Rapunzel lived. There, he heard a voice he knew.
“That voice... Rapunzel?” said the king’s son.
“It’s you! You found me!” said Rapunzel.
She hugged him and wept, and two of her tears fell into his eyes. At once, they grew clear, and he could see again!
“Rapunzel! I can see you!” said the king’s son.
Then he took her home to his kingdom, where everyone welcomed them with joy. And they lived happily ever after.