There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for achild. 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 whicha splendid garden could be seen, which was full of the most beautifulflowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and noone dared to go into it because it belonged to an enchantress, who hadgreat power and was dreaded by all the world. One day the woman wasstanding by this window and looking down into the garden, when she saw abed which was planted with the most beautiful rampion (rapunzel), and itlooked so fresh and green that she longed for it, she quite pined away,and began to look pale and miserable. Then her husband was alarmed, andasked: 'What ails you, dear wife?' 'Ah,' she replied, 'if I can't eatsome 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 of the rampion yourself, let it cost what it will.'At twilight, he clambered down over the wall into the garden of theenchantress, hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to hiswife. She at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it greedily. Ittasted so good to her--so very good, that the next day she longed for itthree times as much as before. If he was to have any rest, her husbandmust once more descend into the garden. In the gloom of eveningtherefore, he let himself down again; but when he had clambered down thewall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the enchantress standing beforehim. 'How can you dare,' said she with angry look, 'descend into mygarden and steal my rampion like a thief? You shall suffer for it!''Ah,' answered he, 'let mercy take the place of justice, I only madeup my mind to do it out of necessity. My wife saw your rampion from thewindow, and felt such a longing for it that she would have died if shehad not got some to eat.' Then the enchantress allowed her anger to besoftened, and said to him: 'If the case be as you say, I will allowyou to take away with you as much rampion as you will, only I make onecondition, you must give me the child which your wife will bring intothe world; it shall be well treated, and I will care for it like amother.' The man in his terror consented to everything, and when thewoman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared at once, gave thechild the name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her.

Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child under the sun. When she wastwelve years old, the enchantress shut her into a tower, which lay ina forest, and had neither stairs nor door, but quite at the top was alittle window. When the enchantress wanted to go in, she placed herselfbeneath it and cried:

'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair to me.'

Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when sheheard the voice of the enchantress she unfastened her braided tresses,wound them round one of the hooks of the window above, and then the hairfell 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 throughthe 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 hersolitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound. The king'sson 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 deeplytouched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest andlistened to it. Once when he was thus standing behind a tree, he sawthat an enchantress came there, and he heard how she cried:

'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair to me.'

Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the enchantressclimbed up to her. 'If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I toowill try my fortune,' said he, and the next day when it began to growdark, he went to the tower and cried:

'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair to me.'

Immediately the hair fell down and the king's son climbed up.

At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man, such as her eyeshad never yet beheld, came to her; but the king's son began to talk toher quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so stirredthat it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her.Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would takehim for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, shethought: 'He will love me more than old Dame Gothel does'; and she saidyes, and laid her hand in his. She said: 'I will willingly go away withyou, 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 whenthat is ready I will descend, and you will take me on your horse.' Theyagreed that until that time he should come to her every evening, for theold woman came by day. The enchantress remarked nothing of this, untilonce Rapunzel said to her: 'Tell me, Dame Gothel, how it happens thatyou are so much heavier for me to draw up than the young king's son--heis with me in a moment.' 'Ah! you wicked child,' cried the enchantress.'What do I hear you say! I thought I had separated you from allthe world, and yet you have deceived me!' In her anger she clutchedRapunzel's beautiful tresses, wrapped them twice round her left hand,seized a pair of scissors with the right, and snip, snap, they were cutoff, and the lovely braids lay on the ground. And she was so pitilessthat she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in greatgrief and misery.

On the same day that she cast out Rapunzel, however, the enchantressfastened 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.'

she let the hair down. The king's son ascended, but instead of findinghis dearest Rapunzel, he found the enchantress, who gazed at him withwicked and venomous looks. 'Aha!' she cried mockingly, 'you would fetchyour dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest;the cat has got it, and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel islost to you; you will never see her again.' The king's son was besidehimself with pain, and in his despair he leapt down from the tower. Heescaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell pierced hiseyes. Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing butroots and berries, and did naught but lament and weep over the loss ofhis dearest wife. Thus he roamed about in misery for some years, and atlength came to the desert where Rapunzel, with the twins to which shehad given birth, a boy and a girl, lived in wretchedness. He heard avoice, and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it, andwhen he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck and wept. Twoof her tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear again, and he couldsee with them as before. He led her to his kingdom where he wasjoyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy andcontented.