Rapunzel
Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who had long, but to no avail, wished for a child. Finally the woman came to believe that the good Lord would fulfill her wish. Through the small rear window of these people's house they could see into a splendid garden that was filled with the most beautiful flowers and herbs. The garden was surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared enter, because it belonged to a sorceress who possessed great power and was feared by everyone.
One day the woman was standing at this window, and she saw a bed planted with the most beautiful rapunzel. It looked so fresh and green that she longed for some. It was her greatest desire to eat some of the rapunzel. This desire increased with every day, and not knowing how to get any, she became miserably ill.
Her husband was frightened, and asked her, "What ails you, dear wife?"
"Oh,"she answered,"if I do not get some rapunzel from the garden behind our house, I shall die."
The man, who loved her dearly, thought, "Before you let your wife die, you must get her some of the rapunzel, whatever the cost."
So just as it was getting dark he climbed over the high wall into the sorceress's garden, hastily dug up a handful of rapunzel, and took it to his wife. She immediately made a salad from it, which she devoured eagerly. It tasted so very good to her that by the next day her desire for more had grown threefold. If she were to have any peace, the man would have to climb into the garden once again. Thus he set forth once again just as it was getting dark. But no sooner than he had climbed over the wall than, to his horror, he saw the sorceress standing there before him.
"How can you dare," she asked with an angry look, "to climb into my garden and like a thief to steal my rapunzel? You will pay for this."
"Oh," he answered, "Let mercy overrule justice. I came to do this out of necessity. My wife saw your rapunzel from our window, and such a longing came over her, that she would die, if she did not get some to eat."
The sorceress's anger abated somewhat, and she said, If things are as you say, I will allow you to take as much rapunzel as you want. But under one condition: You must give me the child that your wife will bring to the world. It will do well, and I will take care of it like a mother."
In his fear the man agreed to everything.
When the woman gave birth, the sorceress appeared, named the little girl Rapunzel, and took her away. Rapunzel became the most beautiful child under the sun. When she was twelve years old, the sorceress locked her in a tower that stood in a forest and that had neither a door nor a stairway, but only a tiny little window at the very top.
When the sorceress wanted to enter, she stood below and called out:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair to me.
Rapunzel had splendid long hair, as fine as spun gold. When she heard the sorceress's voice, she untied her braids, wound them around a window hook, let her hair fall twenty yards to the ground, and the sorceress climbed up it.
A few years later it happened that a king's son was riding through the forest. As he approached the tower he heard a song so beautiful that he stopped to listen. It was Rapunzel, who was passing the time by singing with her sweet voice. The prince wanted to climb up to her, and looked for a door in the tower, but none was to be found.
He rode home, but the song had so touched his heart that he returned to the forest every day and listened to it. One time, as he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw the sorceress approach, and heard her say:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair.
Then Rapunzel let down her strands of hair, and the sorceress climbed up them to her.
"If that is the ladder into the tower, then sometime I will try my luck."
And the next day, just as it was beginning to get dark, he went to the tower and called out:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair.
The hair fell down, and the prince climbed up.
At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as she had never seen before came in to her. However, the prince began talking to her in a very friendly manner, telling her that his heart had been so touched by her singing that he could have no peace until he had seen her in person. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him as her husband, she thought, He would rather have me than would old Frau Gothel." She said yes and placed her hand into his.
She said, I would go with you gladly, but I do not know how to get down. Every time that you come, bring a strand of silk, from which I will weave a ladder. When it is finished I will climb down, and you can take me away on your horse." They arranged that he would come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day.
The sorceress did not notice what was happening until one day Rapunzel said to her, Frau Gothel, tell me why it is that you are more difficult to pull up than is the young prince, who will be arriving any moment now?"
"You godless child," cried the sorceress. "What am I hearing from you? I thought I had removed you from the whole world, but you have deceived me nonetheless."
In her anger she grabbed Rapunzel's beautiful hair, wrapped it a few times around her left hand, grasped a pair of scissors with her right hand, and snip snap, cut it off. And she was so unmerciful that she took Rapunzel into a wilderness where she suffered greatly.
On the evening of the same day that she sent Rapunzel away, the sorceress tied the cut-off hair to the hook at the top of the tower, and when the prince called out:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair.
she let down the hair.
The prince climbed up, but above, instead of his beloved Rapunzel, he found the sorceress, who peered at him with poisonous and evil looks.
"Aha!" she cried scornfully. "You have come for your Mistress Darling, but that beautiful bird is no longer sitting in her nest, nor is she singing any more. The cat got her, and will scratch your eyes out as well. You have lost Rapunzel. You will never see her again."
The prince was overcome with grief, and in his despair he threw himself from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell poked out his eyes. Blind, he wandered about in the forest, eating nothing but grass and roots, and doing nothing but weeping and wailing over the loss of his beloved wife. Thus he wandered about miserably for some years, finally happening into the wilderness where Rapunzel lived miserably with the twins that she had given birth to.
He heard a voice and thought it was familiar. He advanced toward it, and as he approached, Rapunzel recognized him, and crying, threw her arms around his neck. Two of her tears fell into his eyes, and they became clear once again, and he could see as well as before. He led her into his kingdom, where he was received with joy, and for a long time they lived happily and satisfied.
Es war einmal ein Mann und eine Frau, die hatten sich schon lange ein Kind gewünscht und nie eins bekommen, endlich aber ward die Frau guter Hoffnung. Diese Leute hatten in ihrem Hinterhaus ein kleines Fenster, daraus konnten sie in den Garten einer Fee sehen, der voll von Blumen und Kräutern stand, allerlei Art, keiner aber durfte es wagen, in den Gar- ten hineinzugehen. Eines Tages stand die Frau an diesem Fenster und sah hinab, da erblickte sie wunderschöne Rapunzeln auf einem Beet und wurde so lüstern darnach, und wußte doch, daß sie keine davon bekommen konnte, daß sie ganz abfiel und elend wurde. Ihr Mann erschrack endlich und fragte nach der Ursache; „ach wenn ich keine von den Rapunzeln aus dem Garten hinter unserm Haus zu essen kriege, so muß ich sterben.“ Der Mann, welcher sie gar lieb hatte, dachte, es mag kosten was es will, so willst du ihr doch welche schaffen, stieg eines Abends über die hohe Mauer und stach in aller Eile eine Hand voll Rapunzeln aus, die er seiner Frau brachte. Die Frau machte sich sogleich Salat daraus, und aß sie in vollem Heißhunger auf. Sie hat- ten ihr aber so gut, so gut geschmeckt, daß sie den andern Tag noch dreimal soviel Lust bekam. Der Mann sah wohl, daß keine Ruh wäre, also stieg er noch einmal in den Garten, allein er erschrack gewaltig, als die Fee darin stand und ihn heftig schalt, daß er es wage in ihren Gar- ten zu kommen und daraus zu stehlen. Er ent- schuldigte sich, so gut er konnte, mit der Schwan- gerschaft seiner Frau, und wie gefährlich es sey, ihr dann etwas abzuschlagen, endlich sprach die Fee: „ich will mich zufrieden geben und dir selbst gestatten Rapunzeln mitzunehmen, so viel du willst, wofern du mir das Kind geben wirst, womit deine Frau jetzo geht.“ In der Angst sagte der Mann alles zu, und als die Frau in Wochen kam, erschien die Fee sogleich, nannte das kleine Mädchen Rapunzel und nahm es mit sich fort.
Dieses Rapunzel wurde das schönste Kind unter der Sonne, wie es aber zwölf Jahr alt war, so schloß es die Fee in einen hohen hohen Thurm, der hatte weder Thür noch Treppe, nur bloß ganz oben war ein kleines Fensterchen. Wenn nun die Fee hinein wollte, so stand sie unten und rief:
„Rapunzel, Rapunzel! laß mir dein Haar herunter.“
Rapunzel hatte aber prächtige Haare, fein wie gesponnen Gold, und wenn die Fee so rief, so band sie sie los, wickelte sie oben um einen Fen- sterhaken und dann fielen die Haare zwanzig Ellen tief hinunter und die Fee stieg daran hinauf.
Eines Tages kam nun ein junger Königs- sohn durch den Wald, wo der Thurm stand, sah das schöne Rapunzel oben am Fenster ste- hen und hörte sie mit so süßer Stimme singen, daß er sich ganz in sie verliebte. Da aber keine Thüre im Thurm war und keine Leiter so hoch reichen konnte, so gerieth er in Verzweiflung, doch ging er alle Tage in den Wald hin, bis er einstmals die Fee kommen sah, die sprach:
„Rapunzel, Rapunzel! laß dein Haar herunter.“
Darauf sah er wohl, auf welcher Leiter man in den Thurm kommen konnte. Er hatte sich aber die Worte wohl gemerkt, die man sprechen muß- te, und des andern Tages, als es dunkel war, ging er an den Thurm und sprach hinauf:
„Rapunzel, Rapunzel, laß dein Haar herunter!“
da ließ sie die Haare los, und wie sie unten waren, machte er sich daran fest und wurde hin- aufgezogen.
Rapunzel erschrack nun anfangs, bald aber gefiel ihr der junge König so gut, daß sie mit ihm verabredete, er solle alle Tage kommen und hinaufgezogen werden. So lebten sie lustig und in Freuden eine geraume Zeit, und die Fee kam nicht dahinter, bis eines Tages das Rapunzel anfing und zu ihr sagte: „sag' sie mir doch Frau Gothel, meine Kleiderchen werden mir so eng und wollen nicht mehr passen.“ Ach du gottlo- ses Kind, sprach die Fee, was muß ich von dir hören, und sie merkte gleich, wie sie betrogen wäre, und war ganz aufgebracht. Da nahm sie die schönen Haare Rapunzels, schlug sie ein paar Mal um ihre linke Hand, griff eine Scheere mit der rechten und ritsch, ritsch, waren sie abge- schnitten. Darauf verwieß sie Rapunzel in eine Wüstenei, wo es ihr sehr kümmerlich erging und sie nach Verlauf einiger Zeit Zwillinge, einen Knaben und ein Mädchen gebar.
Denselben Tag aber, wo sie Rapunzel ver- stoßen hatte, machte die Fee Abends die abge- schnittenen Haare oben am Haken fest, und als der Königssohn kam;
„Rapunzel, Rapunzel, laß dein Haar herunter!“
so ließ sie zwar die Haare nieder, allein wie erstaunte der Prinz, als er statt seines gelieb- ten Rapunzels die Fee oben fand. „Weißt du was, sprach die erzürnte Fee, Rapunzel ist für dich Bösewicht auf immer verloren!“
Da wurde der Königssohn ganz verzwei- felnd, und stürzte sich gleich den Thurm hinab, das Leben brachte er davon, aber die beiden Augen hatte er sich ausgefallen, traurig irrte er im Wald herum, aß nichts als Gras und Wurzeln, und that nichts als weinen. Einige Jahre nachher geräth er in jene Wüstenei, wo Rapunzel kümmerlich mit ihren Kindern lebte, ihre Stimme däuchte ihm so bekannt, in dem- selben Augenblick erkannte sie ihn auch und fällt ihm um den Hals. Zwei von ihren Thrä- nen fallen in seine Augen, da werden sie wie- der klar, und er kann damit sehen, wie sonst.