A long time ago there lived in a cottage a man and woman. For years they wanted a child but no child had come. In their home was a small window which faced a beautiful garden. Each day the woman would look out her window and gaze upon the flowers and herbs that grew there.
Finally the woman became pregnant. She and her husband were happy and waited anxiously for their child to be born. One day as the woman stood looking intently at the garden her eyes fixed upon the most beautiful rampion. It looked so fresh and green that she desired it will all of her heart. Unfortunately a thick wall stood between their cottage and the garden. A powerful enchantress lived beyond the wall, whose garden it was, and everyone feared her because she evil.
One day the woman grew ill and told her husband that if she did not have some of the rampion she would die. Even though it was dangerous for her husband to cross over the wall and get his wife some of the delicious rampion, he did so. He climbed over the wall and into the enchantress’s garden. He gathered a handful of rampion in his hand and went back to his cottage and gave it to his wife. "This is delicious. I must have more." she said. "Go back over the wall and gather me more." Reluctantly, the husband climbed the wall once more and gathered a bag full of rampion. Just as he finished, he looked up and standing before him was the enchantress. "What are you doing in my garden?" she asked. The man told her his wife would die without eating the rampion that grew in her garden. The enchantress’s heart was softened and told the man that he could take the rampion to his wife. In return for the rampion she wanted their unborn child. The man in fear agreed.
When the child was born, the enchantress came to their cottage. The child was a baby girl and very beautiful. The enchantress named her Rapunzel and took her back to her home to raise as her own.
When Rapunzel was 12 years old the enchantress locked her in a high tower. The tower did not have a door or stairs. The only window was at the top of the tower. The enchantress would stand at the bottom of the tower below the window and call up to Rapunzel. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me." Rapunzel then would let down her long hair and the enchantress would climb up on it.
One day when she had grown into a beautiful woman, a prince walking by heard Rapunzel singing. Rapunzel had the most delightful voice he had ever heard. Every day he would stand below her window and listen to her sing. One day he heard the enchantress say, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me." then watched as the enchantress climbed to the window on her long golden locks. He wanted to see the girl whose voice sounded like an angel so one day, he stood and repeated "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me."
The prince climbed the thick, long hair and upon entering the window saw the most lovely creature he had ever seen. Rapunzel was shocked and frightened when she saw the prince. He told her he had been listening to her sing and wanted to see whose voice he heard. The prince was very handsome and pleasant. Every day he continued to visit Razpunzel in the tower and soon they fell in love. The prince asked Rapunzel to leave the tower and go with him. She said that she would but needed to be able to climb down from the tower. She told the prince to bring her a skein of silk every time he visited so that she could make a ladder out of it.
One day while the enchantress was visiting Rapunzel, Rapunzel asked, "Why is it that it is so much harder for me to draw you up, the King’s son is with me in a moment?" This angered the enchantress. She took a pair of scissors and cut Rapunzels hair to her shoulders. She took the long braids and put them on a hook inside the window. When the prince came he found the enchantress in the tower instead of his dear Rapunzel. "Rapunzel is lost to you, you will never see her again" exclaimed the enchantress. The prince was so distraught,he jumped from the tower window and fell into a bush of thorns. The thorns pierced his eyes and he became blind.
For many years the prince wandered in blindness. As he was collecting berries one day, he heard a familiar voice singing. He followed the pleasant melody. There was Rapunzel. The enchantress had sent her away. She had given birth to twins and lived in the meadow near a small town. She immediately recognized the prince and ran to him. Her tears fell into his eyes and they became clear. He could see once more. Rapunzel, their twins and the prince lived together in peace and happiness the rest of their lives.
