Rapunzel
Introduction
This tale was first collected by the Brothers Grimm from German folk tradition, and at its heart stands a tower without a door. We have retold it as a fable because it was a fable in disguise all along: the tower, the golden hair, and the tears are not real things but pictures of the heart. The tower stands for being cut off from the world; the hair is the one bridge to other people; the tears are true love made visible. This is exactly how Chinese fables teach through images. When the prince loses his sight and still walks on, we remember the old saying "sincere effort can split metal and stone": his faithful heart is finally repaid with light. Rapunzel herself is like the frog at the bottom of a well in the Chinese tale — she has seen only one window and one witch, so the first man she ever meets frightens her. Narrow seeing can make even good things look terrible. In the Grimms' first edition of 1812, Rapunzel gives away the secret by asking why her clothes are growing too tight; later editions softened that line for young readers, and Disney's Tangled turned the hair into glowing magic and dropped the blindness altogether. As you read, ask your child: what does a person lose when they never look beyond one window?
Vocabulary from "Rapunzel"
12 key words from this story with definitions and original context sentences for language learners.
A garden plant with tender leaves that people once ate in salads.
野莴苣：一种叶子嫩绿、从前可拌沙拉吃的园中植物。
She saw a bed of wild rampion, thick and green.
她见园里一畦野莴苣又肥又绿。
The time in the evening when it starts to get dark.
黄昏；天擦黑的时候。
That night, at dusk, he climbed over the wall, picked a handful of rampion, and hurried home.
当夜，他趁天擦黑翻过围墙，掐了一把野莴苣带回家。
Something very precious that people keep with great care.
宝贝；非常贵重、让人珍惜的东西。
His wife was as glad as if she had found a treasure.
妻子见了，欢喜得像得了宝贝。
More beautiful; prettier.
更美丽的；更好看的（fair 的比较级）。
Rapunzel grew up fairer than any flower.
拉庞泽尔一天天长大，出落得比花儿还好看。
To make cloth or a rope by crossing threads or strands together.
编织：把丝线或细绳交错编在一起。
I will weave it into a ladder.
我把它编成梯子。
A large pair of scissors for cutting hair or cloth.
大剪刀：用来剪头发或布的大剪子。
She seized Rapunzel by the hair, hit her with one hand, and took up great shears with the other.
她一把揪住拉庞泽尔的头发，左手打她，右手操起一把大剪刀。
A wild, empty place where nothing grows or lives.
荒地；荒无人烟、寸草不生的旷野。
She carried Rapunzel to a lonely wasteland and left her there, alone and helpless.
她把她扔到一片荒无人烟的旷野，任她自生自灭。
Deep sadness, especially after losing something dear.
悲伤；忧愁。
The prince wandered in sorrow for years.
就这样，王子在世上苦熬了好几年。
Always loyal and true, never giving up on someone.
忠贞的；一心一意、不离不弃的。
The faithful heart walks to the ends of the earth, and true love leads it home.
痴心的人走到天涯，真爱也会把他领回家。
Walked slowly with no fixed direction or goal.
流浪；漫无目的地走（wander 的过去式）。
After that he wandered in the forest, eating roots and wild berries, weeping day and night.
从此他只在林子里流浪，吃草根、啃野果，日日以泪洗面。
Cried; shed tears.
哭泣；流泪（weep 的过去式）。
She threw her arms around his neck and wept.
她扑上来搂住他的脖子，放声大哭。
Made unable to see.
弄瞎；使失去视力（blind 的过去式/过去分词）。
He did not die, but he fell into a thorn bush, and the thorns blinded him.
他命大没死，可摔进荆棘丛，双眼被刺瞎了。
Reading Together & Learning More
The Moral
A tower can lock a body, but it can never lock a heart. Be faithful and true, and love will bring you home at last.
Educational Value
Children learn that true love means setting free and finding, not locking up. They also see that a sincere, patient heart can overcome the hardest times, just like the old saying: sincere effort can split metal and stone.
Tips for Parents
After reading, ask your child whether the witch's tower was love or ownership. Talk about what kept the prince searching after he lost his sight, then help your child connect that patience to a small goal they are working on at home or at school.
Talk About It
- Rapunzel's parents promised their child to the witch for a few rampion plants. Should a promise made in fear be kept? What would you have done?
- The witch said she would raise Rapunzel "as her own," yet she locked her in a tower with no door. What is the difference between loving someone and owning someone?
- After he went blind, the prince wandered for years. What kept him going? Would you have given up?
- Rapunzel stepped back in fear when she first saw the prince. Why? What does a person lose when they never see the world outside one window?
- Two of Rapunzel's tears healed the prince's eyes. In this story, what do you think the tears stand for?
