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Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm ~ Bedtime Stories

Rapunzel, A Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale ~ Bedtime Story for Kids

in English
This is the story of Rapunzel, a Classic Fairy Tale originally
written by the Brothers Grimm in their book, The Brothers
Grimm Fairy Tales Collection. It was adapted & is brought to
you by Stories to Grow by.

Listen to Rapunzel while you read along!

Chapter 1

The Carpenter and His Wife

ONCE UPON A TIME, there lived a carpenter and his wife. More
than anything, they wanted a child of their own. At long last,
their wish came true – the wife was going to have a baby!

Thanks to Lily, 13. FL USA

From the second floor window of their small house, the wife
could see into the garden next door. Such fine fresh rows of
plants and flowers there were! But no one dared to go over the
garden wall to see them up close. For the garden belonged to a
witch!

One day the wife was looking down at the garden from her
window. How fresh-looking were those big green heads of
lettuce! “It is just what I need to eat!” said the wife to her
husband. “You must go and get me some.”

“But we cannot!” said the carpenter. “You know as well as I do

that the garden belongs to the witch, who lives next door.”

“If I cannot have that lettuce,” said the wife, “I will not eat
anything at all! I will die!"

What could the carpenter do? Late that night, he climbed over
the garden wall. With very quiet steps, he took one green head
of lettuce. With more quiet steps, he went back over the
garden wall. His wife ate up the lettuce right away.
But eating the lettuce only made her want more! If she could
not have more lettuce, she said, there was nothing she would
eat at all!So the next night, the carpenter climbed back over the
garden wall. He picked up one more head of lettuce. All at once
came a high, loud, voice.

“STOP! What do you think you are doing?”

“I…uh…am getting lettuce for my wife,” said the carpenter.

Thanks to Lily, 13, FL USA

"You thief!" yelled the witch. "You will pay for this!"

“Please!” said the carpenter. “My wife is going to have a baby.

She saw your lettuce and wanted it so very much.”

“Why should I care about that?” shouted the witch.

“I will do anything!” said the carpenter. He thought, "Maybe I

can build her something."
“You say you will do anything?” said the witch.

“Yes,” he said.

“Fine!” said the witch. “Here's the deal. Go ahead - take all the
lettuce you want. Your wife will have a baby girl. And when
she does, the baby will be mine!”

“What?!” said the carpenter. “I would never agree to that!”

“You already did!” said the witch. And she laughed an evil
laugh.

Chapter 2

The Tower

Soon the wife had a baby girl, just as the witch had said. To
keep the baby safe from the witch, the carpenter built a tall
tower deep in the woods. He built stairs that led up to a room
at the very top, a room with one window. He and his wife took
turns staying with the baby.
Thanks to 123rf

But the witch had a magic ball. The ball showed her just where
the baby was, at the top room of the tower. One day when the
carpenter and his wife were both in the house, she cast a spell
over both of them. They fell into a deep, deep sleep. And at
once, the witch went to the tower.

At the top room, the witch said to the baby, “I will call you
Rapunzel. For that is the name of the lettuce that brought you
to me. Now Rapunzel, you are mine!”

But the witch did not know how to take care of a baby.
Rapunzel grew into a child, and the witch did not even know
how to cut her hair. The girl’s blond hair grew longer and longer
every day.

Thanks to Christabella, 12, Indonesia

All the witch could do was keep the child locked in the room at
the very top of the tower. She told the girl that the world was a
very bad place. That was why she could not leave the tower.

As she grew up, many times Rapunzel said to the witch, “There
is nothing here for me to do! Why must I stay in this tower all
the time?”

And the witch shouted back, “I already told you so many times!
The world is a very bad place. Now go comb your hair and be
quiet.”

"But is it really so bad out there? Sometimes I hear people

laughing down below," Rapunzel would say sometimes.

At such times the witch would yell, "How many times do I have
to repeat myself? Don't listen to anything you see or hear out
there. The world is much worse than you think! You will stay in
this tower forever, Rapunzel. So get used to it!"

On her 12th birthday, Rapunzel said to the witch, “I do not care

what you say anymore! I am so tired of staying here alone all
the time! When you are gone, I will chip away at the door. I will
make a hole. I will run down the stairs and outside, no matter
what you say!”

“Think again!” said the witch. With her power, she made all the
stairs in the tower fall down. She made the doors close up.
Now there was no way for Rapunzel to escape!

Chapter 3

A Singing Voice

By then, Rapunzel’s hair had grown very, very long. Once the
stairs were gone, when it was time for the witch to visit her in
the tower, she would call from outside, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel!
Let down your hair!”

Thanks to 123rf

Rapunzel would throw her long blond braid out of the window.
The witch would grab hold of her hair like a rope. And that is
how the witch climbed up the tower wall to the window in
Rapunzel’s room.

Five more long years went by. Poor Rapunzel! She knew she
must stay in the room. All she could do was to sing sad songs
out of the window. Sometimes birds at the treetops would join
in her songs. Then she would feel a bit better.

Thanks to Karen, 9, GA USA

But not much.

One day, a prince was riding through the woods. He heard a

beautiful singing voice. Where was it coming from? He rode
closer and closer to the sound. At last, he came to the tower.

“This is odd!” he said, looking around the tower wall. “There is

no door at the bottom. Yet someone is singing at the very top.
How does anyone get in or out of there?” Each day, the prince
came back to the tower. There was something about that voice
that pulled him back. Who was that young woman singing at
the top? Could he ever meet her?

One day when the prince rode up, he saw an old woman
standing below the tower. He jumped behind a tree to hide. It
was a witch! He heard her call out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let
down your hair!” A long blond braid was thrown out from a
window at the very top. The old woman grabbed onto the
braid. And she climbed the wall to the window at the top of
the tower.

“Ah, ha!” said the prince. “So that is how it is done!” He

waited.

Thanks to Hanshal, Age 6 Karnataka, India

After a bit, the braid was thrown from the window again. The
witch climbed back down the tower wall. Then she left.
The prince waited. He stepped up to the tower. In a voice that
sounded as much like the witch as he could, he called out,
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair!” In a moment, the
same long blond braid came out of the window. “It worked!”
thought the prince. He climbed up the wall of the tower.

You can be sure that Rapunzel was very surprised to see the
prince climb into her window. She had never seen a person up
close before other than the witch, and never a man! “Who are
you?” she said in fear.

“Do not worry!” said the prince. “I am a friend.”

“But I do not know you,” said Rapunzel.

“I feel as if I know you,” said the prince. “Since I have heard

you sing songs from up here day after day. You have a beautiful
voice! And I love it when the birds sing with you, too.”

“Yes, I like that, too,” said Rapunzel. “It may be the only thing I
like, since I must stay here in this same old tower, day after day,
my whole life long.” Rapunzel told the prince about the witch.
She told him that since the world was such a very bad place,
she must always stay in the tower room.

“But the world is not as bad as she says!” said the prince. He
told Rapunzel about flowers and festivals, games and gardens.
He told her about puppies and puddles, strawberries and
secrets.

Many hours went by. At last, Rapunzel said he must go - the

witch may come back at any time! “Very well,” said the prince.
“But I will be back tomorrow.” Rapunzel threw her braid out
the window, and the prince climbed down.

Thanks to Zainab, 9, UK

The next day, the prince climbed back up to Rapunzel’s room.

He said, “I have a surprise for you.” He had brought
strawberries for her.
As she tasted a strawberry Rapunzel thought, "Now I know that
what I was told is not true. The world can be a very fine place!
I must get out of this tower as soon as I can." But how?

Thanks to Srinidhi, 12, CA USA

Chapter 4

Plan to Escape

One day, the prince said, "If only you could get out of this
tower. I can come and go by climbing up the walls by holding
onto your braid. But once I am down, how can you get down,
too?"

Thanks to Elizabeth, 12, AZ, USA

"I know!" said Rapunzel. "Bring me a ball of silk each time you
come. I can weave the silk into a ladder. Silk folds up so small
the witch won't see it. When the ladder gets long enough to
reach the ground, we will both be able to climb out of here.”

“That's it!” said the prince. Then he moved closer to Rapunzel.

"We will both be free. When we are out in the world, will you
marry me?”

“Yes,” said Rapunzel, "I will." Every day after that, the prince
brought a ball of silk to Rapunzel. Over time, she weaved the
silk into a long ladder.

On Rapunzel’s 18th birthday the witch spoke to her in a sharp

voice. “Before you open your mouth this time," said the witch,
"know this. I am sick and tired of hearing you talk about how
alone you are in the tower all the time. It isn't go to change,
Rapunzel! Forever!"

“Who says I’m alone in the room all the time?” said Rapunzel.

“What?!” said the witch. “Who has been up here with you?”
“No one!” said Rapunzel at once, in fear. “I mean, no one but
you!”

The witch did not believe her. She started to look everywhere
in the room for something to prove that someone else had
been there. Soon she found the ladder. She held it high in the
air. She yelled, “What is the meaning of this?”

“My friend the prince brought me the silk,” said Rapunzel.

"You will never see this prince again!” yelled the witch. She
took out a knife. Snip, snap, and Rapunzel's lovely braid was
cut off!

Holding the braid in one hand, the witch laughed an evil laugh.
With a stroke of her magic, Rapunzel was cast away to a far-
away desert. Then the witch stayed in the tower room. She
knew that soon the prince would come back.

Thanks to 123rf
Chapter 5

The Last Climb

The witch did not have to wait long. Soon the prince was
calling at the bottom of the tower, in a voice that was supposed
to sound like her own, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your
hair!”

"So that is how he did it!" thought the witch. Holding tightly to
one end of Rapunzel's braid, she threw the braid out the
window. The prince took hold and climbed up. When he got to
the window, he was much surprised to see the witch!

“Where is Rapunzel?” he called out. “What have you done with

her?”

“You will never see your Rapunzel again!” yelled the witch.

The witch pushed the prince so hard that he lost hold of the
window. Down, down, he fell!
Thank you to Artist, Anoo

The prince landed on some bushes below. That helped with the
fall, but the bushes had sharp thorns. Some of the thorns went
into his eyes. The prince was blind!

Chapter 6

The Desert

For two years the poor blind prince wandered the world,
looking for Rapunzel. From morning to night he called for her,
but it was no use. At last, he reached a desert. One day, he
heard a beautiful voice singing. “Oh!” he thought. “I know that
voice!” It was his dear Rapunzel! He went closer and closer to
the voice he knew so well.

Thanks to Aron, 8, India

“My prince!” called Rapunzel when she saw him. The two of
them hugged tight. Two tears of joy fell into the eyes of the
prince. All at once, he could see again!

And what happened next, well, I'm sure you can guess! The
prince and Rapunzel went back to the kingdom where the
prince lived. They were married as soon as they could. The
prince became king of the land and Rapunzel became queen.
The two of them lived happily ever after.

Thanks to 123rf

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46 Comments
Jennifer and Adalynn

September 2, 2021 at 3:00 am Reply

My daughter and I think this version of the story is super cool

and all of the pictures other kids made and submitted are super
amazing!!!

Adrian

August 29, 2021 at 3:38 pm Reply

Because stealing has consequences as we saw the carpenter

stealing the lectuse it led to them having to give up their baby
girl. And true love can never be broken.

Iris

July 15, 2021 at 7:28 pm Reply

Sweet story

Stories to Grow by

July 16, 2021 at 1:13 pmReply

Iris, thank you for your comment. Tell me one thing you loved
about the story!

Mary M.

June 24, 2021 at 7:56 am Reply

this is a great story and I love the drawings those who drew
have good drawing skills.

Stories to Grow by

June 24, 2021 at 11:55 amReply

RESPONSE FROM STORIES TO GROW BY–

Mary, did you know you can illustrate our stories too? Just pick
a story & send us a JPG to [email protected].

Jaylily

June 16, 2021 at 10:45 pm Reply

The story teaches sometimes you can’t listen to what people

say because Rapunzel did not listen to her mom and she got
married, so the world is a good place ?
Ditvi

June 9, 2021 at 4:28 pm Reply

I think it’s trying to show me to never give up and to be brave.

ZINA T.

June 4, 2021 at 11:22 am Reply

Well this is the very very nicest story i ever listened to OMG. It
almost made me to cry at the ending part. The witch is very
very wicked by locking her up in that big tower.

Ram

June 1, 2021 at 12:26 pm Reply

The story tells us never to stop trying what you want to do. In
the the story there were so many problems, but the Prince and
Rapunzel did not stop trying.

stella

May 30, 2021 at 3:08 pm Reply

This story is very good to read because we learn that love can
settle any problem. For example the prince never gave up on
finding Rapunzel.

Allena

May 12, 2021 at 5:10 pm Reply

This story is amazing like soooooooooo AMAZING!!!!!

Anonymous

May 12, 2021 at 1:08 am Reply

this story is showing us the meaning of love

Anonymous

May 10, 2021 at 1:13 pm Reply

I think that the story is trying to show to never give up, because
in the story the prince never gave up and in the end, he found
Rapunzel.

anonymous

May 10, 2021 at 12:30 pm Reply

not as good as Grimms where everyone died lol

Anonymous

May 10, 2021 at 9:20 am Reply

crying does not fix being blind

Yvette Lamb

May 9, 2021 at 11:54 pm Reply

My daughter loved this story!!!

Richard

May 9, 2021 at 11:08 pm Reply

i think it was pretty brutal when his eyes got gouged by thorns
haha lol

Anonymous

April 29, 2021 at 6:54 am Reply

I love this story, it is kind.

Alice
April 25, 2021 at 4:05 pm Reply

It’s bad to cut people’s hair with a knife.

Anonymous

April 15, 2021 at 2:59 pm Reply

Better than any other story

Sydney

April 12, 2021 at 10:50 pm Reply

The moral of the story is: when something is destined to

happen then no one, no matter how much power they may
have, can stop that from happening. You also can’t stop the
cycle of life.

Rebekah

April 11, 2021 at 2:16 pm Reply

This is a very good story I read it to my sisters every night ?

Jackie

April 9, 2021 at 10:30 pm Reply

I loved the story so much, I’m never going to stop reading it ???

Advika

February 12, 2021 at 6:31 am Reply

I love this story and the drawings that are drawen

Koaml N.

January 22, 2021 at 6:26 am Reply

Is a very happy story ??????????????️

angie

January 14, 2021 at 5:50 pm Reply

she could have used her own hair by tying its end to the
window and climbing down

christianah

January 13, 2021 at 3:23 am Reply

lovely story i love it

GLORY
January 10, 2021 at 2:47 pm Reply

IF SHE TIED HER HAIR TO HER BED, SHE COULD HAVE CLIMBED
DOWN AND CUT A LITTLE PART OF IT.

Moana

January 9, 2021 at 4:13 pm Reply

A nice story, wow i love it

Marli

January 4, 2021 at 3:32 am Reply

I use this to make my sister sleep

Nidhi

December 12, 2020 at 12:40 am Reply

Thank you for the nice story. First question, the answer is the
Prince told her. And the second question answer is the Prince
could have gotten a strong wooden ladder instead of silks.

Vitani

December 11, 2020 at 11:53 am Reply

it was so dang long but I kinda liked it

Marji

December 6, 2020 at 10:40 am Reply

She could have cut her braid and secured it to something in the
tower. Then she would be able to climb down her own hair.

Alpana

November 16, 2020 at 3:13 am Reply

Fantastic story

Kamora

November 10, 2020 at 1:54 pm Reply

Answer 1-Ralunzel should not believe what the witch said

because we have eyes to look the nature and we

can decide by ourselves.Sometime we have to trust our eyes

more than our ears.
Answer 2-Rapunzel should ask the prince to make a ladder by
wood in the forest day by day so that Rapunzel can come down
from the tower .

I like the story very much .This was the first story ,I searched
from google. ❤️

Androz

November 6, 2020 at 9:58 am Reply

1. The time I thought of this was while I was reading the 4th
Chapter. I thought to myself and really wondered how the
prince managed to survive out there for two years without
substances like: Food and Water to keep him energized and
loaded with nutrients. But my thought differs from the what I
learned cause I saw and managed to read through the fairy tale
and interpret that the prince still survived probably because of
his strength and long-lasting duration, that’s what really carried
him for those two years.

2. The prince could have cut off Rapunzel’s hair and used it as a
rope for both of them to exit through the castle window by
tying one end of Rapunzel’s hair to a ledge at the window, and
the other end could have been thrown out the window and the
two would have been able to execute their escape safely. ??
✔✔.aw

Shukrona

October 21, 2020 at 9:23 am Reply

I like this story. I want to say thank you for best story. It will be
help me for my lessons ?

Weston

October 8, 2020 at 12:10 am Reply

This might sound kind of silly but my seventh grade shots made
me kind of scared when they were really not that bad.

He could have brought a rope and climbed up.

Weston

October 8, 2020 at 12:10 am Reply

This might sound kind of silly but my seventh grade shots made
me kind of scared when they were really not that bad.

He could have brought a rope and climbed up.

Sweden Muirbrook

October 6, 2020 at 2:52 pm Reply

She could have held on to the rock walls and climbed down.

《♡nora♡》

October 4, 2020 at 4:52 am Reply

I love this book its so beautiful and romantic and lovely i rate
this ☆☆☆☆☆ stars

Beckett

October 1, 2020 at 6:28 pm Reply

I once thought dogs were dangerous because they have sharp

teeth and all these claws. When I met my friends dogs, I
realized they weren’t so bad.

She could have used her hair, like in the movie.

Trydithwings

September 28, 2020 at 8:43 pm Reply

it is soo beautifull, i am about to cry, 5 stars out of 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anonymous

September 21, 2020 at 5:50 pm Reply

I learned that some foods aren’t as bad as they seem. Another

way Rapunzel could have escaped is if she tied her hair to
something strong and heavy and jumped out of the tower. The
prince would catch her and use his sword to cut off her hair.

Jinjer

October 2, 2018 at 5:15 am Reply

That’s a lovely story it touch my heart????

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SOURCE:

This story has been adapted from The Brothers Grimm Fairy
Tale. The Brothers Grimm story is an adaptation of the fairy tale
Rapunzel by Friedrich Schulz published in 1790

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