Once upon a time there was a girl named Rapunzel.
Rapunzel lived in a tall tower in the middle of a forest.
The tower had no ladder
no stairs
and definitely no elevator
There was no way to get up or down.
So… why did Rapunzel live in a tower?
Well, it all started with a witch.
As you know, witches can be very jealous.
They especially hate people stealing herbs from their gardens.
Unfortunately Rapunzel’s mother didn't know this about witches.
Many years ago when she was pregnant with Rapunzel,
she snuck over the fence and stole some parsley from the witch next door.
The witch saw her stealing parsley. She was furious.
She gave Rapunzel’s mother two choices.
Option one:
The witch would curse her unborn baby girl.
The girl would always be unlucky.
She would meet the wrong people
and say the wrong things
and wear the wrong clothes for every occasion
She would never live happily ever after.
Option two:
On the girl’s tenth birthday, she would go to live with the witch.
She would be the witch’s apprentice.
The witch promised that, eventually
the girl would live happily ever after.
Rapunzel’s mother was heartbroken.
She chose option two.
And on the evening of Rapunzel’s tenth birthday
the witch came to take her away
She put Rapunzel in the tall tower in the woods.
After that, every day was the same for Rapunzel.
She cleaned her room at the top of the tower.
She braided her long, long hair.
And every day at lunchtime, the witch came to the tower.
She stood under the window and shouted:
RAPUNZEL!
Let down your hair!
Rapunzel threw her braid out of the window.
The witch climbed up Rapunzel’s hair like a rope
and crawled in through the window
The witch taught Rapunzel how to make medicines with herbs.
And Rapunzel loved the witch.
She was Rapunzel’s only friend.
One night, Rapunzel was reading a book beside the window
when she heard someone below:
RAPUNZEL!
LET... DOWN... YOUR HAIR?!
“That’s strange,” she thought.
The witch never comes this late.
She threw her braid out of the window
and the person climbed up, up, up.
But when this person reached the top
Rapunzel saw that it wasn’t the witch.
It was a man!
Rapunzel quickly grabbed her book and smacked the man on the head.
Get out! Get out! You’re not the witch!
The strange man fell to the floor.
“Ow! Ow! Stop hurting me!” he begged.
Who are you? What do you want?
Why did you climb my hair?
demanded Rapunzel
“I’m Justin! My name is Justin!” he whimpered
I came here to ... save you?
As you can imagine, Rapunzel was not very impressed.
“Tell me, Justin,” she growled.
Does it look like I need to be saved?
Justin sighed.
I'm sorry
I thought this was my chance to be a hero
“What do you mean?” asked Rapunzel.
My chance to be hero!
Every man needs to be a hero at least once in his life.
It’s the only way to live happily ever after!
Rapunzel put down her book.
“I don’t need a hero,” she said, kindly.
Go away. Be a hero somewhere else.
It’s late. I want to go to bed.
Rapunzel threw her braid out the window.
Well, can I come back and talk to you tomorrow?
Justin asked
you seem nice
Also I brought a rope for you
In case you change your mind one day...
“Fine, fine,” said Rapunzel.
Goodbye, Justin
And Justin climbed out the window and down Rapunzel's hair
The next day, Rapunzel cleaned her room and braided her hair
The witch came at lunch time.
She brought Rapunzel a sandwich
and showed her how to make medicine to cure headaches
But as the witch was leaving
she saw Justin’s rope lying on the floor
Whose rope is this? Where did you get it?
Do you want to escape?
Rapunzel tried to explain, but the witch was too upset.
I love you like a daughter!
Do you really hate me so much that you want to leave?
“No… there was a man—” said Rapunzel.
“A MAN?” the witch cried
Fine! Go to him! Go!
Tears poured down the witch’s face
Go and live happily ever after with this …. man!
The witch threw some magic powder at the floor
and Rapunzel immediately fell asleep
When she woke up, she was not in the tower anymore.
She was lying under a tree in the forest.
Her hair was cut
Rapunzel cried for ten minutes
and then she stood up and decided to look for her tower
Meanwhile, back at the tower
Justin returned as promised
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!
he shouted from beneath the window
And the hair dropped down in front of his face
But as I’m sure you know...
It wasn’t Rapunzel in the tower.
It was the witch!
When Justin got to the top of the tower
the witch pulled him in through the window.
"So YOU are the man who wants to take my Rapunzel!" she said
I see.
Well then. Go and live happily ever after together!
The witch blew a handful of powder into his face.
And with that, Justin was blind.
After walking all night, Rapunzel found her way home.
But the tower was gone!
All that was left was a burnt circle on the ground.
“Oh nooooo!” cried Rapunzel
and she fell to the ground sobbing
But then she heard a voice coming from behind some trees.
Hello?
Is someone there?
Can you help me?
I can't see...
... I can't see anything!
It was Justin!
When Rapunzel saw Justin’s blind eyes, she knew what to do.
“Stay right there,” she ordered.
Rapunzel ran into the forest to find some herbs.
She ground the herbs and made medicine.
Then she put the medicine on Justin’s eyes.
Then... she cried again
“Please don’t cry…” said Justin, softly.
Why are you crying?
My home is gone. My only friend is gone
You are blind — this is a mess!
“Everything will be ok,” Justin said.
Then he smiled.
Trust me — I’m a hero!
For three days, they camped in the forest.
Rapunzel made medicine for Justin’s eyes.
Justin told her about every time he had tried to be a hero.
Once he tried to fight a giant...
but the giant was very kind
He invited Justin inside for tea
Once he tried to kill a dragon...
But the dragon had baby dragons in its nest.
Justin couldn’t do it.
Once he rescued a cat from a tree...
But the cat immediately climbed back up.
“It’s really hard to be a hero!” he complained.
When Rapunzel felt like crying, Justin told jokes until she laughed.
When she couldn’t sleep, he listened to all her worries.
On the fourth day when Rapunzel woke up
Justin was already awake
He was looking at her with his bright blue eyes
He could see!
“Thank you, my beautiful friend,” he said
You fixed my eyes.
Justin and Rapunzel walked to Justin’s village.
Rapunzel liked it in the village.
Justin helped her build a new tower
and this time the tower had stairs
Rapunzel spent her days making medicine for the sick people in the village
Did Justin ever become a hero?
Yes, of course!
There are many kinds of heroes
But the best and bravest heroes
are the ones who help their friends through hard times
And Justin had helped his friend Rapunzel
In the end
Justin and Rapunzel both lived happily ever after —
— just as the witch had promised