In a village lived a young couple who were soon going to have a baby. Their cottage overlooked a wonderful garden surrounded by a wall. It had lovely flowers and fresh vegetables, but they never dared to enter it because it belonged to a witch.
One day, the woman saw some fresh rapunzel growing in the garden and really pined to eat it. Her husband saw his wife looking miserable and decided that he must get her the leaves somehow.
That evening, the young man climbed over the wall and picked some of the leaves and clambered back to his house. His wife made a salad and was delighted with the taste of it. Then she wanted more!
Her husband went again the next evening. As he plucked the leaves, he looked up to see the witch standing before him. “How dare you pluck herbs from my garden?” said the angry witch.
The young man trembled, and then he explained he was taking it for his wife who was expecting a child. The witch smiled, “Well, I’ll let you take it for her every day. But you will have to pay for it!” The man was so terrified that he agreed to any payment she wanted.
“I will take your child when it is born and bring it up,” said the witch. The poor man pleaded with her but to no avail. Silently and sadly, he went home and told his wife all about it.
A pretty baby-girl was born some weeks later. The witch appeared to fulfil the promise. “She shall be called Rapunzel,” said the witch, picking up the baby. “I’ll look after her like my own,” she said as she vanished with the baby.
The witch was very possessive about Rapunzel, who grew up into a most beautiful girl with long golden hair. Therefore, when she was twelve years old, she took her to a tower in the heart of a forest, with no stairs or doors. It had a room at the top with windows and there Rapunzel lived.
Only the witch could come and go to the tower. She would stand at the foot of the tower and call out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me!” Rapunzel would let down her long golden hair and the witch would climb up using that as a rope. Rapunzel herself could not come down from the tower.
Some years passed in this way. When she was alone, Rapunzel would sing sweetly to herself. One day a Prince, riding through the forest, was charmed by her singing. He saw the witch approach the tower and cry out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let your hair down to me!” Down came the golden hair and the witch climbed up. Later, he saw her leave, climbing down the same way.
He waited till night fell, and then called out as the witch had done. Rapunzel let down her hair and was shocked when she saw that, instead of the witch, a strange person stood there! She had never seen anyone except the witch all her life, so she was frightened at the sight of the Prince.
However, he talked to her gently and soon she was not nervous any more. He fell in love with her. He began to visit her every night and tell her stories about the life outside the tower. She soon loved him too.
She told him to fetch some silken thread every day so that she might make it into a ladder. Then she could escape with him. He brought her the thread and she began to make the silken ladder. Then Rapunzel made a mistake.
One day, as she sat talking to the witch, she innocently said, “You are much heavier than the Prince.” The witch was sharp and understood immediately that someone had come in her absence.
Furious, she took a pair of scissors and chopped off her braid. Then she spirited Rapunzel away to a desert and left her there. She then returned to the tower to destroy the Prince. When he called out at night, the witch let down Rapunzel’s braid that she had kept tied to the bedpost. The Prince climbed in through the window and was horrified to see the witch in place of Rapunzel. “Got you!” she screamed, “You’ll never see her again!”
As she reached for the heart-broken Prince, he leapt out of the window. He fell on the thorns below. They saved him from death, but the prick at his eyes, blinded him.
The Prince wandered around, hoping to find Rapunzel. But it seemed a forlorn hope as he could not even see. He mourned the loss of Rapunzel, singing her songs. Thus he wandered for some years, finally reaching the desert where the witch had left Rapunzel.
She recognized his voice and rushed to him. Tired, blind and bedraggled, he was her beloved Prince. She hugged him and cried. As her tears fell on his face and eyes, his eyes began to heal. He could see again! He took Rapunzel back with him to his kingdom. They were married and lived happily ever after.
