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Rapunzel. There were once a man and a woman whohad long in vain wished for a child.
At length the woman hoped that God was about togrant her desire. These people had a little window
at the back of their house from which a splendidgarden could be seen, which was full of the most
beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however,surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to
go into it because it belonged to an enchantress,who had great power and was dreaded by all the
world. One day the woman was standing by thiswindow and looking down into the garden,
when she saw a bed which was planted with the mostbeautiful rampion,
Rapunzel, and it looked so fresh and green thatshe longed for it.
She quite pined away and began to look pale andmiserable. Then her husband was alarmed,
and asked, what ails you, dear wife? Ah, shereplied, if I can't eat some of the rampion,
which is in the garden behind our house, I shalldie. The man, who loved her, thought,
sooner than let your wife die, bring her some ofthe rampion yourself, let it cost what it will.
At twilight, he clambered down over the wall intothe garden of the enchantress,
hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took itto his wife. She at once made herself a salad
of it, and ate it greedily. It tasted so good toher, so very good, that the next day she longed
for it three times as much as before. If he was tohave any rest, her husband must once more
descend into the garden. In the gloom of eveningtherefore, he let himself down again, but when he
had clambered down the wall he was terriblyafraid, for he saw the enchantress standing
before him. How can you dare, said she with angrylook, descend into my garden and steal my
rampion like a thief? You shall suffer for it. Ah,answered he, let mercy take the place of
justice, I only made up my mind to do it out ofnecessity. My wife saw your rampion from the
window, and felt such a longing for it that shewould have died if she had not got some to eat.
Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be softened, and said to him, if the case be as you
say, I will allow you to take away with you asmuch rampion as you will, only I make onecondition,
you must give me the child which your wife willbring into the world, it shall be well treated,
and I will care for it like a mother. The man inhis terror can send it to everything.
And when the woman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared at once, gave the child
the name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her.Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child under
the sun. When she was twelve years old, the enchantress shut her into a tower, which lay in
a forest, and had neither stairs nor door, butquite at the top was a little window. When the
enchantress wanted to go in, she placed herselfbeneath it and cried. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down
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your hair to me. Rapunzel had magnificent longhair, fine as spun gold, and when she heard the
voice of the enchantress she unfastened her braided tresses, wound them round one of the hooks ofthe
window above, and then the hair fell twenty aislesdown, and the enchantress climbed up by it.
After a year or two, it came to pass that the king's son rode through the forest and passed
by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was socharming that he stood still and listened.
This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed hertime in letting her sweet voice resound.
The king's son wanted to climb up to her, andlooked for the door of the tower,
but none was to be found. He rode home, but thissinging had so deeply touched his heart,
that every day he went out into the forest andlistened to it. Once when he was thus standing
behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress camethere, and he heard how she cried.
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me. ThenRapunzel let down the braids of her hair,
and the enchantress climbed up to her. If that isthe ladder by which one mounts,
I too will try my fortune, said he and the nextday when it began to grow dark,
he went to the tower and cried. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me.
Immediately the hair fell down and the king's sonclimbed up. At first Rapunzel was terribly
frightened when a man, such as her eyes had neveryet beheld, came to her, but the king's son
began to talk to her quite like a friend, and toldher that his heart had been so stirred that
it had let him have no rest, and he had beenforced to see her. Then Rapunzel lost her fear,
and when he asked her if she would take him forher husband, and she saw that he was young and
handsome, she thought, he will love me more thanold Dame Gothel does, and she said yes,
and laid her hand in his. She said, I willwillingly go away with you, but I do not know
how to get down. Bring with you a skein of silkevery time that you come, and I will weave a
ladder with it, and when that is ready I willdescend, and you will take me on your horse.
They agreed that until that time he should come toher every evening, for the old woman came by
day. The enchantress remarked nothing of this,until once Rapunzel said to her, Tell me,
Dame Gothel, how it happens that you are so muchheavier for me to draw up than the young
king's son, he is with me in a moment. Ah! youwicked child, cried the enchantress.
What do I hear you say? I thought I had separatedyou from all the world,
and yet you have deceived me. In her anger sheclutched Rapunzel's beautiful tresses,
wrapped them twice round her left hand, seized apair of scissors with the right, and snip,
snap, they were cut off, and the lovely braids layon the ground. And she was so pitiless that
she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she hadto live in great grief and misery.
On the same day that she cast out Rapunzel,however, the enchantress fastened the braids of
hair, which she had cut off, to the hook of thewindow, and when the king's son came and cried.
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me. Shelet the hair down. The king's son ascended,
but instead of finding his dearest Rapunzel, hefound the enchantress, who gazed at him with
wicked and venomous looks. Aha! she cried mockingly, you would fetch your dearest,
but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing inthe nest, the cat has got it,
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and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzelis lost to you, you will never see her again.
The king's son was beside himself with pain, andin his despair he leapt down from the tower.
He escaped with his life, but the thorns intowhich he fell pierced his eyes.
Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, atenothing but roots and berries,
and did not but lament and weep over the loss ofhis dearest wife. Thus he roamed about in misery
for some years, and at length came to the desertwhere Rapunzel, with the twins to which she had
given birth, a boy and a girl, lived in wretchedness. He heard a voice, and it seemed so
familiar to him that he went towards it, and whenhe approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on
his neck and wept. Two of her tears wetted hiseyes, and they grew clear again, and he could
see with them as before. He led her to his kingdomwhere he was joyfully received, and they lived for
a long time afterwards, happy and contented.
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