Rapunzel

A pregnant woman longs for rampion growing in an enchantress’s garden. Her husband steals some, but is caught when he returns for more. Terrified, he agrees to surrender their child. The enchantress takes the baby and names her Rapunzel.

When Rapunzel is twelve, Dame Gothel confines her in a tower without a door or stairs. She visits by calling for Rapunzel to lower her long hair, then climbing it.

A prince hears Rapunzel singing and discovers how Gothel enters. He climbs up, and Rapunzel agrees to marry him. They plan an escape: he will bring silk for a ladder during his evening visits.

Rapunzel accidentally reveals the visits by asking why Gothel is harder to pull up than the prince. Gothel cuts off her hair and abandons her in a wilderness. That evening she hangs the severed braids from the tower and draws the prince up herself.

On discovering Rapunzel gone, he leaps from the tower in despair. He survives, but thorns blind him. After years of wandering, he hears Rapunzel’s familiar voice. She is living with their twins, a boy and a girl. Her tears fall into his eyes and restore his sight. He brings his family to his kingdom, where they live happily.