Rapunzel

Once there was a man and a woman who lived next to an enchantress. They really wanted a child, and they were going to have one soon. They also had a small window facing the enchantress’ garden, which was the most beautiful garden in the world.

One day, the woman wanted some of the rampion that was in the enchantress’ garden. She wanted it so bad; she told her husband that if she didn't eat some of it, she would certainly die. He husband didn’t want her to die, so that night he climbed over the wall, and took some. Then, his wife made some into a salad.

The next day though, she wanted it three times as much as before. So her husband climbed over the wall, but he found the enchantress on the other side!

“How dare you steal something from my garden!” she yelled.

He replied, “I only did it because I had to, my wife needs some, or she will die.”

“You can take whatever you want,” she answered,” if you give me your child. I will take care of it like a mother.”

He quickly agreed, and took the rampion back to his house. When their child was born, the enchantress appeared, named the child Rapunzel, and took her away.

Once Rapunzel reached the age of twelve, the enchantress shut her up in a tall tower with no door and no way to get down. When the enchantress wanted to get up, she called out, “Let down your hair, Rapunzel.” Then, Rapunzel let down her hair, which had never been cut. It reached nine-hundred inches down, far enough for the enchantress to grab on and climb up. The only fun thing for Rapunzel to do was to sing in her free time.

After a couple years, the prince started riding through the forest where the tower was. When he heard Rapunzel sing, he wanted to see her very much. He followed the sound of her voice, and he found that the noise was coming from the tower. Every day he rode to the forest to hear Rapunzel’s singing.

When he heard the enchantress coming, he hid behind a tree and saw how she climbed up the tower. So when the enchantress left, he called out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.” Rapunzel let her hair out the window, and was surprised to see the prince instead of the enchantress. She was a little bit scared first, because she had never seen a boy before, but they became friends quickly. When the prince asked her if he could marry her, she said yes. But Rapunzel couldn’t climb down on her own hair, so every time the prince came he would bring a spool of silk with him, then she could spin it into a ladder so she could climb down.

But one day, Rapunzel made a mistake by asking the enchantress, “Why is it harder for me to lift you up than the prince?”

“You evil child!” the enchantress said, “I thought I had separated you from the entire world, and now you have tricked me!”

The enchantress cut off Rapunzel’s hair and brought her to a desert. When the prince came and told Rapunzel to let down her hair, the enchantress let down Rapunzel’s hair. The prince climbed up, but found the enchantress instead of Rapunzel.

“You would have found your beloved, but she is no longer here!” said the enchantress.

The prince jumped off of the tower so he wouldn't be killed, but he landed in thorns, which blinded him. He wandered through the forest for a couple of years, and then he found the desert where Rapunzel lived. When Rapunzel saw him, she wept over him, and some of the tears fell on his eyes, which let his eyes see again. Then the prince led them to his kingdom, where they lived together happily ever after.