Long ago, a man and his wife lived in a small house that had a window overlooking a magnificent garden. The garden belonged to a powerful enchantress — a woman feared by everyone in the land. The garden was surrounded by a high wall, and nobody dared to enter it.
The wife was expecting a baby, and during her pregnancy, she developed an overwhelming craving for a plant she could see growing in the enchantress's garden. The plant was called rapunzel — a green, leafy herb with a fresh, delicious taste. The wife stared at it through the window every day, and her craving grew worse and worse.
"I will die if I don't eat some of that rapunzel," she told her husband.
Her husband loved her so much that he climbed over the wall at night and stole some rapunzel from the garden. His wife ate it and felt better. But the next day, she wanted more. And the day after that, even more.
On his third visit, the enchantress caught him.
"How dare you steal from my garden!" she said, her eyes blazing with anger.
The man fell to his knees and begged for mercy. He explained about his wife and the baby. The enchantress listened, and then she made a deal — a terrible deal.
"You may take as much rapunzel as your wife wants," she said. "But when the baby is born, you must give the child to me."
The man was so frightened that he agreed.
When the baby girl was born, the enchantress appeared at the door. She took the child, named her Rapunzel, and disappeared.
Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful girl in the land. She had long golden hair that grew and grew until it was over twenty metres long. When she turned twelve, the enchantress locked her in a tall tower deep in the forest. The tower had no door and no stairs — only a single window at the very top.
When the enchantress wanted to visit, she stood at the base of the tower and called:
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!"
Rapunzel would lower her long golden braid out of the window, and the enchantress would climb up.
Years passed. Rapunzel lived alone in her tower, with only the birds and the wind for company. She sang to pass the time, and her voice was the most beautiful voice in all the forest.
