Rapunzel

Long ago, a husband and wife lived next door to a beautiful garden. The garden belonged to a powerful Witch named Gothel, and no one dared to enter it.

One day, the wife looked over the wall and saw a bed of fresh, green rampion (a type of lettuce). She craved it so much she fell ill. “I must have some of that rampion, or I shall die,” she cried.

Her husband, worried, climbed the wall at night to steal some. The Witch caught him! “Thief!” she hissed. “You shall pay!”

“Please,” begged the man. “My wife is sick. She needs it.”

“Fine,” said the Witch. “Take as much as you want. But in return, you must give me the baby your wife is expecting.” Terrified, the man agreed.

When the baby was born, the Witch appeared. She named the baby Rapunzel and took her away.

Rapunzel grew up to be the most beautiful child under the sun, with hair like spun gold. When she was twelve, the Witch locked her in a tall tower in the middle of the woods. The tower had no stairs and no door—only a small window at the very top.

Whenever the Witch wanted to visit, she would stand at the bottom and call: “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair!”

Rapunzel would unwind her long, golden braids and drop them out the window. The Witch would use the hair like a rope to climb up.

Years passed. Rapunzel grew lonely, singing sweet songs to the birds to pass the time.

One day, a young Prince was riding through the forest. He heard the beautiful singing and followed the sound to the tower. He looked for a door but found none. He returned every day just to listen.

Then, he saw the Witch arrive. He heard her call, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” and saw the golden braid fall down.

“So that is the ladder!” thought the Prince.

The next evening, he stood by the tower and called, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!”

The hair fell down, and the Prince climbed up. Rapunzel was frightened at first, for she had never seen a man before. But the Prince was kind and gentle. He told her how he loved her singing. They talked for hours and soon fell in love. “I will bring you silk to weave a ladder,” promised the Prince, “so we can escape together.”

But one day, Rapunzel accidentally said to the Witch, “Mother, why are you so much heavier to pull up than the Prince?”

“The Prince?!” shrieked the Witch. “You have deceived me!”

In a rage, she grabbed a pair of scissors and SNIP, SNAP—she cut off Rapunzel’s beautiful hair. She then used magic to whisk poor Rapunzel away to a lonely desert.

That night, the Witch tied the cut braids to the window hook. When the Prince called, she let the hair down. The Prince climbed up, expecting his love, but found the angry Witch instead!

“The bird has flown!” she cackled. “You will never see her again!”

Heartbroken and startled, the Prince fell from the tower. He landed in a thornbush. He survived, but the thorns scratched his eyes so badly he could barely see.

He wandered the world for a year, sad and blind, looking for his love. Finally, he came to a desert place. He heard a voice singing—a voice he knew!

“Rapunzel!” he cried.

Rapunzel saw him and ran into his arms, weeping with joy. Her tears of love fell into his eyes, and miraculously, they healed his sight. He could see as clearly as before!

The Prince took Rapunzel to his kingdom, where they were welcomed with great joy. They lived happily and peacefully for the rest of their days, and the Witch was never seen again.

Moral of the Story: True love and hope can guide you through the darkest times.