Rapunzel

The story

Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who longed to have a child.

Beside their house was a beautiful garden, filled with vegetables and herbs.

But the garden belonged to a witch, and no one dared to enter it.

One day, the woman saw the most beautiful leafy plant growing there.

She longed for it so much that her husband secretly climbed over the wall to pick some.

But the witch caught him.

"You may pick whatever you like," she said sternly, "but in return, you must give me your child when it is born."

The man was so frightened that he agreed.

When the little girl was born, the witch took her away.

She named her Rapunzel.

The child grew into a beautiful girl, with long, shining hair that stretched for metres and metres.

To keep Rapunzel all to herself, the witch locked her inside a high tower.

It had no stairs and no door.

Only a small window right at the top.

Whenever the witch wanted to come up, she called:

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

Then Rapunzel lowered her long braid from the window.

The witch climbed up using her hair.

One day, a prince rode through the forest and heard Rapunzel singing.

Her voice was so beautiful that he returned every day to listen.

Then he saw how the witch climbed the tower.

He waited until she had gone.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" he called.

The braid came tumbling down.

The prince climbed up.

At first, Rapunzel was startled.

But the prince was so kind that they soon became good friends.

He came back every day.

And they decided to escape together.

But one day, Rapunzel accidentally gave their secret away.

The witch discovered their plan.

Furious, she took Rapunzel far away, to a lonely place.

And when the prince called out and climbed the tower that evening, he found the angry witch at the top instead of Rapunzel.

The prince was so startled that he fell and landed in the thorny bushes below.

The thorns left him unable to see for a long time.

Blind and heartbroken, he wandered for years.

Living on berries and roots.

And he never stopped searching for Rapunzel.

Until one day, he heard a familiar voice singing in the distance.

It was Rapunzel!

She ran to him and threw her arms around him.

Two tears of joy fell into his eyes.

And at that very moment, he could see clearly again.

Together, they returned to his kingdom.

And there they lived happily ever after.