Rapunzel
A Story from the Grimm Brothers
Once upon a time, there was a witch. The witch lived alone, and she was very lonely. She desperately wanted a child. So, late one night, she went into a family’s house, and she stole a baby who was sleeping.
“She will be my daughter,” said the witch. “And I will name her Rapunzel.”
Rapunzel grew into a beautiful woman. She had long, blonde hair that looked like gold. She liked to sing, and she had a beautiful voice. The witch was worried that someone might try to take Rapunzel away from her.
So, the witch put Rapunzel inside a tall tower, and she locked all the doors so no one could go inside. She told Rapunzel that she needed to stay inside the tower all the time because it was dangerous outside. So, Rapunzel lived inside the tower, and the witch visited her every day.
Every day, when the witch came to the tower, she stood on the ground and yelled, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!”
Rapunzel put her head outside the window and let her hair down. Her hair was so long that it almost touched the ground, and the witch climbed up her hair and went inside the tower.
Rapunzel was lonely and bored living all alone in the tower. But she passed the time by singing to the birds she saw outside her window.
One day, a prince was walking outside near the tower. He heard a beautiful voice singing. He followed the sound, and he came to the tower. He looked up and saw Rapunzel standing at the window. Her saw her beautiful face, and he wanted to go up the tower to meet her. He tried to go inside, but he couldn’t because the door was locked. So he stayed on the ground and listened to Rapunzel sing.
Soon, the witch came to the tower to visit Rapunzel. The prince hid behind a tree and watched the witch. He heard the witch say, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!” And he saw her climb up Rapunzel’s hair and go inside the tower.
The prince waited on the ground outside and watched. Finally, a few hours later, he saw the witch leave the tower.
Then, the prince stood at the bottom of the tower and yelled, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!”
Rapunzel let down her hair, and the prince climbed up. Rapunzel was in shock when she saw the prince. The witch was the only person who ever visited her! At first, she was scared.
But the prince was very nice and friendly. He and Rapunzel talked for a long time. But it was starting to get late, so the prince needed to leave. “Can I visit you again?” he asked.
“Yes, of course,” said Rapunzel. She was happy that she finally had another person to talk to, other than the witch.
Over the next month, the prince came to visit Rapunzel every day. Soon, the two of them fell in love. But Rapunzel knew that the witch would not let her get married. So, Rapunzel and the prince planned how they would escape from the tower.
On the night when they planned to escape, there was a big storm outside. The witch was worried about Rapunzel, so she came to the tower. The witch yelled, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!”
The storm was so loud that Rapunzel could barely hear the voice. So the witch climbed up Rapunzel’s hair, but Rapunzel thought it was the prince. As the witch climbed, Rapunzel yelled, “Come quickly, my love! We need to escape before the witch comes.”
When the witch heard this, she was furious. She climbed in through the window and yelled at Rapunzel, “You horrible girl! I took care of you for years, and now you want to escape?!”
The witch grabbed a pair of scissors, and she cut off Rapunzel’s long hair. Then she went downstairs, unlocked the tower door, and threw Rapunzel outside into the forest.
Then, the witch waited for the prince inside the tower. Soon after, the prince came and yelled, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!” The witch let down the hair she had cut from Rapunzel’s head, and the prince climbed up.
The prince came inside the tower and saw the witch.
The witch said angrily to the prince, “You tried to steal my precious girl! Now, you will never see her again!” And the witch put a curse on the prince that made him blind.
Then the witch threw the prince outside into the forest, thinking he would probably die soon.
The prince was depressed and heartbroken. He walked around in the forest for a few days, feeling everything around him because he couldn’t see.
Then, one morning, he heard a voice he knew, singing sadly.
“Rapunzel? Is that you?” he yelled, walking towards the voice.
Rapunzel ran to the prince and took him in her arms. She cried tears of happiness, and when her tears fell on the prince’s eyes, he could see again.
The prince and Rapunzel went back to the prince’s home, and together they lived happily ever after.