Rapunzel Kids Story
There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child.
At length the woman hoped that God was about to grant her desire. These people had a little window at the back of their house from which a splendid
garden 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 this window and looking down into the
garden,when she saw a bed which was planted with the most beautiful rampion - rapunzel, and it looked so fresh and green that
she longed for it, and had the greatest desire to eat some. This desire increased every day, and as she knew that she could not get
any of it, she quite pined away, and began to look pale and
miserable.Then her husband was alarmed, and asked, what ails you, dear wife. Ah, she
replied, if I can't eat some of the rampion, which is in the garden behind our house, I shall die.
The man, who loved her, thought, sooner than let your wife die, bring her some
of the rampion yourself, let it cost what it will. At twilight, he clambered down over the wall into the garden of the
enchantress,hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to his
wife.
She at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it
greedily. It tasted
so good to her - so very good, that the next day she longed
for it
three times as much as before. If he was to have any rest, her
husband must once more descend into the garden. In the gloom of
evening, therefore, he let himself down again.
But when he had clambered down the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw
the enchantress standing before him. How can you dare, said she with angry look, 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 of necessity. My wife
saw your rampion from the window, and felt such a longing for it that she would 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 as much rampion as you will, only I make one
condition, you must give me the child which your wife will
bring
into the world. It
shall be well treated, and I will care for it
like a mother. The
man in his terror consented 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, but
quite at the top was a little window. When the enchantress
wanted to go in, she placed herself beneath it and cried,rapunzel,
rapunzel,let down your
hair to me.
Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, 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 of the window
above,
and then the hair fell twenty ells down, 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 so charming that he stood still and listened.
This was rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her
sweet voice resound. The
king's son wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be
found. He
rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart,
that
every day he went out into the forest and listened to
it. Once when
he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an
enchantress
came there, and he heard how she cried, rapunzel, rapunzel,let down your
hair.
She at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it greedily. It tasted