Rapunzel!
Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, a husband and wife lived next to a beautiful garden. This garden belonged to a powerful witch, and no one dared to enter it. The wife, who was expecting a baby, saw some delicious-looking plants called rapunzel growing in the garden and longed to eat them. She begged her husband to get some for her, so one night, he snuck into the garden and stole some rapunzel for her. She ate it and felt better, but the next day, she craved more. Her husband returned to the garden, but this time, the witch caught him.
“How dare you steal from my garden?” the witch shouted angrily. The frightened man begged for mercy, explaining that his wife needed the rapunzel. The witch thought for a moment and then said, “You can take as much as you want, but in return, you must give me your baby when it’s born.” The man, scared and feeling trapped, agreed.
When the baby girl was born, the witch took her away and named her Rapunzel. The witch raised Rapunzel in a tall tower deep in the forest, far away from everyone. The tower had no stairs or doors, only a single window high up. Rapunzel grew up with long, golden hair, which the witch would use to climb up to visit her. She would stand at the bottom of the tower and call, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” Rapunzel would let her long hair fall out of the window so the witch could climb up.
Years went by, and Rapunzel remained locked in the tower. She grew up into a beautiful young woman, and though she sang and talked to birds, she was lonely. One day, a prince rode by the tower and heard Rapunzel singing. Her voice was so lovely that he wanted to see her. He watched from the trees and saw the witch calling for Rapunzel to let down her hair. The prince realized this was the only way into the tower, so he waited for the witch to leave. Then, he stood at the bottom of the tower and called out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!”
Rapunzel, thinking it was the witch, let down her hair, and the prince climbed up. At first, Rapunzel was frightened, as she had never seen a stranger before. But the prince was kind, and they quickly became friends. Over time, they fell in love and planned to escape the tower together. The prince promised to return every evening, and each time, he brought silk so that Rapunzel could secretly weave a ladder.
But one day, the witch discovered their plan. Furious, she cut off Rapunzel’s beautiful hair and sent her to live far away in a lonely desert, where she would never see anyone again. When the prince came back to rescue her, the witch tricked him. She let the cut hair fall down the tower, and as the prince climbed up, the witch appeared at the window. In shock and despair, the prince fell from the tower into a bed of thorns, which hurt his eyes and made him blind.
Heartbroken, the prince wandered the land, searching for Rapunzel. For months, he roamed the wilderness, surviving on wild berries and water from streams. Finally, one day, he heard a familiar voice singing in the distance. It was Rapunzel! Though she had been living in isolation, she sang to pass the time. The prince followed the sound of her voice, and when they finally found each other, Rapunzel wept tears of joy. Her tears fell onto the prince’s eyes, and miraculously, his sight was restored.
Reunited, the prince and Rapunzel returned to his kingdom, where they were married and lived happily ever after, free from the witch’s grasp.
The end!
Follow-Up Questions:
- Why do you think the witch wanted to keep Rapunzel locked in the tower instead of letting her live freely?
- How do you think the prince felt after losing his sight, and what gave him the strength to keep searching for Rapunzel?
- What do you think would have happened if the witch hadn’t caught them and cut Rapunzel’s hair?
Good