But at midnight, when all slept, the nurse, who was sitting in the
nursery by the cradle, and who was the only person awake, saw the door
open and the true Queen walk in. She took the child out of the cradle,
laid it on her arm, and suckled it. Then she shook up its pillow, laid
the child down again, and covered it with the little quilt. And she did
not forget the roebuck, but went into the corner where it lay, and
stroked its back. Then she went quite silently out of the door again. The next morning the nurse asked the guards whether anyone had come
into the palace during the night, but they answered, “No, we have seen
no one.”

She came thus many nights and never spoke a word: the nurse always saw
her, but she did not dare to tell anyone about it. When some time had passed in this manner, the Queen began to speak in
the night, and said—

“How fares my child, how fares my roe? Twice shall I come, then never more.”


The nurse did not answer, but when the Queen had gone again, went to
the King and told him all. The King said, “Ah, heavens! what is this? To-morrow night I will watch by the child.” In the evening he went into
the nursery, and at midnight the Queen again appeared and said—

“How fares my child, how fares my roe? Once will I come, then never more.”


And she nursed the child as she was wont to do before she disappeared. The King dared not speak to her, but on the next night he watched
again. Then she said—

“How fares my child, how fares my roe? This time I come, then never more.”


Then the King could not restrain himself; he sprang towards her, and
said, “You can be none other than my dear wife.” She answered, “Yes, I
am your dear wife,” and at the same moment she received life again, and
by God’s grace became fresh, rosy, and full of health. Then she told the King the evil deed which the wicked witch and her
daughter had been guilty of towards her. The King ordered both to be
led before the judge, and judgment was delivered against them. The
daughter was taken into the forest where she was torn to pieces by wild
beasts, but the witch was cast into the fire and miserably burnt. And
as soon as she was burnt the roebuck changed his shape, and received
his human form again, so the sister and brother lived happily together
all their lives. 12 Rapunzel

There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a
child. 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 which a splendid garden could be seen, which was full of the most
beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high
wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an
enchantress, who had great power and was dreaded by all the world. One
day the woman was standing by this window and looking down into the
garden, when she saw a bed which was planted with the most beautiful
rampion (rapunzel), and it looked so fresh and green that she longed
for it, and had the greatest desire to eat some. This desire increased
every day, and as she knew that she could not get any of it, she quite
pined away, and looked pale and miserable. Then her husband was
alarmed, and asked, “What aileth thee, dear wife?” “Ah,” she replied,
“if I can’t get some of the rampion, which is in the garden behind our
house, to eat, I shall die.” The man, who loved her, thought, “Sooner
than let thy wife die, bring her some of the rampion thyself, let it
cost thee what it will.” In the twilight of the evening, he clambered
down over the wall into the garden of the enchantress, hastily clutched
a handful of rampion, and took it to his wife. She at once made herself
a salad of it, and ate it with much relish. She, however, liked it so
much—so very much, that the next day she longed for it three times as
much as before. If he was to have any rest, her husband must once more
descend into the garden. In the gloom of evening, therefore, he let
himself down again; but when he had clambered down the wall he was
terribly afraid, for he saw the enchantress standing before him. “How
canst thou dare,” said she with angry look, “to descend into my garden
and steal my rampion like a thief? Thou shalt suffer for it!” “Ah,”
answered he, “let mercy take the place of justice, I only made up my
mind to do it out of necessity. My wife saw your rampion from the
window, and felt such a longing for it that she would have died if she
had not got some to eat.” Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be
softened, and said to him, “If the case be as thou sayest, I will allow
thee to take away with thee as much rampion as thou wilt, only I make
one condition, thou must give me the child which thy wife will bring
into the world; it shall be well treated, and I will care for it like a
mother.” The man in his terror consented to everything, and when the
woman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared at once, gave the
child the name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her. Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child beneath the sun. When she
was twelve years old, the enchantress shut her into a tower, which lay
in a forest, and had neither stairs nor door, but quite at the top was
a little window. When the enchantress wanted to go in, she placed
herself beneath it and cried,

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down thy hair to me.”


Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when she
heard the voice of the enchantress she unfastened her braided tresses,
wound them round one of the hooks of the window above, and then the
hair fell 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 through
the forest and went by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so
charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in
her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound. The
King’s son 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
deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest
and listened to it. Once when he was thus standing behind a tree, he
saw that an enchantress came there, and he heard how she cried,

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down thy hair.”


Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the enchantress
climbed up to her. “If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I will
for once try my fortune,” said he, and the next day when it began to
grow dark, he went to the tower and cried,

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down thy hair.”


Immediately the hair fell down and the King’s son climbed up. At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as her eyes
had never yet beheld, came to her; but the King’s son began to talk to
her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so
stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see
her.