There once lived a man and his wife, who had long wished for a child, but in vain. Now there was at the back of their house a little window which overlooked a beautiful garden full of the finest vegetables and flowers; but there was a high wall all round it, and no one ventured into it, for it belonged to a witch of great might, and of whom all the world was afraid.

One day that the wife was standing¹ at the window, and looking into the garden, she saw a bed filled with the finest rampion; and it looked so fresh and green that she began to wish for some; and at length she longed for it greatly. This went on for days, and as she knew she could not get the rampion, she pined away, and grew pale and miserable². Then the man was uneasy, and asked, "What is the matter, dear wife?"

"Oh," answered she, "I shall die unless I can have some of that rampion to eat that grows in the garden at the back of our house." The man, who loved her very much, thought to himself, "Rather than lose my wife I will get some rampion, cost what it will." So in the twilight³ he climbed over the wall into the witch's garden, plucked hastily a handful of rampion and brought it to his wife. She made a salad of it at once, and ate of it to her heart's content. But she liked it so much, and it tasted so good, that the next day she longed for it thrice as much as she had done before; if she was to have any rest the man must climb over the wall once more. So he went in the twilight again; and as he was climbing back, he saw, all at once, the witch standing before him, and was terribly frightened, as she cried, with angry eyes, "How dare you climb over into my garden like a thief, and steal my rampion! it shall be the worse for you!"

"Oh," answered he, "be merciful rather than just, I have only done it through necessity; for my wife saw your rampion out of the window, and became possessed⁴ with so great a longing⁵ that she would have died if she could not have had some to eat." Then the witch said,

"If it is all as you say you may have as much rampion as you like, on one condition - the child that will come into the world must be given to me. It shall go well with the child, and I will care for it like a mother."

In his distress⁶ of mind the man promised everything; and when the time came when the child was born the witch appeared, and, giving the child the name of Rapunzel (which is the same as rampion), she took it away with her.

Rapunzel was the most beautiful child in the world. When she was twelve years old the witch shut her up in a tower in the midst of a wood, and it had neither steps nor door, only a small window above. When the witch wished to be let in, she would stand below and would cry,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel!

Let down your hair!"

Rapunzel had beautiful long hair that shone like gold. When she. heard the voice of the witch she would undo⁷ the fastening of the upper window, unbind the plaits of her hair, and let it down twenty ells below, and the witch would climb up by it.

After they had lived thus a few years it happened that as the King's son was riding through the wood, he came to the tower; and as he drew near he heard a voice singing so sweetly that he stood still and listened. It was Rapunzel in her loneliness trying to pass away the time with sweet songs. The King's son wished to go in to her, and sought to find a door in the tower, but there was none. So he rode home, but the song had entered into his heart, and every day he went into the wood and listened to it. Once, as he was standing there under a tree, he saw the witch come up, and listened while she called out,

"O Rapunzel, Rapunzel!

Let down your hair."

Then he saw how Rapunzel let down her long tresses, and how the witch climbed up by it and went in to her, and he said to himself, "Since that is the ladder I will climb it, and seek my fortune." And the next day, as soon as it began to grow dusk, he went to the tower and cried,

"O Rapunzel, Rapunzel!

Let down your hair."

And she let down her hair, and the King's son climbed up by it. Rapunzel was greatly terrified when she saw that a man had come in to her, for she had never seen one before; but the King's son began speaking so kindly⁸ to her, and told how her singing had entered into his heart, so that he could have no peace until he had seen her herself. Then Rapunzel forgot her terror, and when he asked her to take him for her husband, and she saw that he was young and beautiful, she thought to herself, "I certainly like him much better than old mother Gothel," and she put her hand into his hand.

She said: "I would willingly go with thee, but I do not know how I shall get out. When thou comest, bring each time a silken rope, and I will make a ladder, and when it is quite ready I will get down by it out of the tower, and thou shalt take me away on thy horse." They agreed that he should come to her every evening, as the old woman came in the day-time.

So the witch knew nothing of all this until once Rapunzel said to her unwittingly, "Mother Gothel, how is it that you climb up here so slowly, and the King's son is with me in a moment?"

"O wicked child," cried the witch, "what is this I hear! I thought I had hidden thee from all the world, and thou hast betrayed me!" In her anger she seized Rapunzel by her beautiful hair, struck her several times with her left hand, and then grasping a pair of shears⁹ in her right - snip¹⁰, snap - the beautiful locks lay on the ground. And she was so hard-hearted that she took Rapunzel and put her in a waste and desert place, where she lived in great woe¹¹ and misery¹².

The same day on which she took Rapunzel away she went back to the tower in the evening and made fast the severed¹³ locks of hair to the window-hasp, and the King's son came and cried,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel!

Let down your hair."

Then she let the hair down, and the King's son climbed up, but instead of his dearest Rapunzel he found the witch looking at him with wicked glittering eyes.

"Aha!" cried she, mocking him, "you came for your darling, but the sweet bird sits no longer in the nest, and sings no more; the cat has got her, and will scratch out your eyes as well! Rapunzel is lost to you; you will see her no more." The King's son was beside himself with grief, and in his agony he sprang from the tower: he escaped with life, but the thorns on which he fell put out his eyes. Then he wandered blind through the wood, eating nothing but roots and berries, and doing nothing but lament¹⁴ and weep for the loss of his dearest wife.

So he wandered several years in misery until at last he came to the desert place where Rapunzel lived with her twin-children that she had borne, a boy and a girl. At first he heard a voice that he thought he knew, and when he reached the place from which it seemed to come Rapunzel knew him, and fell on his neck and wept. And when her tears touched his eyes they became clear again, and he could see with them as well as ever. Then he took her to his kingdom, where he was received with great joy, and there they lived long and happily.

有一个技艺一流的乐师，他的小提琴演奏令人赏心悦耳，激动不已。一次，他怀着愉快的心情到森林里去漫游，走了一段路，觉得一个人太无聊，就自言自语地说："一个人太沉闷了，我得找一个伙伴来。"于是，他拿起小提琴拉了起来。

顷刻间，森林里回荡起了他那美妙的乐声。

一只狼出现了，乐师看到后说道："哎呀！是一只狼来看我了。"狼走到他面前说："您的琴拉得太动听了！但愿您能教教我。"乐师说："这很容易，只要你按我的吩咐做就行了。"狼回答说："好的，我将是一个非常善于用功的学生。"这样，他们一起走上了小路，最后来到了一棵大树前。这是一棵里面空了的老栎树，树干中间裂了一条大缝。乐师对狼说："看这儿，如果你想学拉小提琴，就把你的前脚伸进这条裂缝去。"狼按照他说的做了，乐师拾起一块大石头把它的两只前脚牢牢地卡在了裂缝里，就像一个被铐着的囚犯。"现在，你给我乖乖地在这儿等着我回来。"乐师说完，迈着悠闲的步子扬长而去。

过了一会儿，他又自言自语地说："一个人太沉闷了，我得再找一个伙伴来。"于是，他又拉起了小提琴，悠扬的提琴声再次在森林里传了开去。接着一只狐狸慢慢地来到了他身边，他说道："哎呀！来了一只狐狸。"狐狸上前说道："您真是一个一流的乐师，提琴拉的多棒啊！我一定要向您学习拉提琴。"乐师说："你很快就可以学会，只要你按照我教你的去做就成。"狐狸马上应声道："好的，我会按您的吩咐去做的。"他们一起上路了。当他们来到一条窄窄的小路时，乐师望了望小路两旁高高的树丛，然后将小路一边的一棵矮壮的榛树干弯下靠近路面，用脚踩住树尖，又弯下小路另一边的一棵榛树对狐狸说："机灵的狐狸，如果你想学拉小提琴，就把你的左前爪让我握住。"狐狸马上伸出了左前爪，乐师将狐狸爪子绑到一棵榛树的树梢。"现在把你的右前爪伸过来给我。"狐狸又按乐师的吩咐做了，他将这只爪子绑在了另一棵榛树的树梢，随后放开自己的脚，两边的榛树"哗啦"向上弹了起来，狐狸也跟着被弹起，四脚张开被挂了起来，来回在空中不停地摇晃着。乐师说道："现在你好好地呆在这儿，等着我回来。"说完，又迈着悠闲的步子扬长而去。

可是，不久他又自言自语地说："又沉闷起来了，我得找一个伙伴。"于是，他拉起了小提琴，琴声飘扬，跑来了一只野兔。乐师说道："哎呀，是只野兔。"野兔对他说："您不愧是一个优秀的琴师。您的琴真是拉绝了。您教我好吗？"乐师回答说："好吧，如果你按我的指挥来做，我就教你。"野兔马上说道："好的，我会是一个好学生。"然后他们一起走了很长一段时间。当来到森林里一片开阔地带时，乐师用一根绳子在野兔的脖子上系好，将绳子的另一头拴在一棵树上，说道："好了，灵巧的野兔，跳起来，迅速地绕树跑二十圈。"愚蠢的野兔按乐师的吩咐跑了起来。当兔子围着树跑完二十圈后，它也将系着它的绳子在树干上绕了二十圈，像一个被套在树上的囚犯。跑完后，野兔兴致勃勃地又拉又扯，但只要一拉，绳子将它的脖子勒得更紧。这时乐师说道："现在等在这儿，直到我回来。"说完就走了。

再说狼被卡住后，又是拉自己的脚，又是咬树干，还跳起来用后脚抓石头。花了好些时间，费了好大的劲，最后才将脚抽出来。它愤恨到了极点，说道："我一定要赶上那卑鄙的乐师，把他撕成碎片。"说完追了上去。狐狸看见狼从身边跑过，叫道："哎！狼兄，请把我放下来，那乐师用诡计把我弄成了这个样子。"于是狼在榛树下面忙乎起来，咬断了两棵树后，它俩又一起去找那位乐师。当它们来到野兔旁边时，野兔也叫喊要它们帮忙。它们把它解脱后，一起向它们的仇人追去。

此时，乐师为了再找一个伙伴，他又拉起了小提琴，一个贫穷的樵夫听到他这欢快的琴声，兴奋不已，禁不住将斧头夹在胳膊下寻声而来。这回，乐师看见是一个人来了，非常高兴，对这位樵夫非常有礼貌，没有用诡计作弄他，而且拉起了他最善长的曲调，直听得那樵夫如醉如痴，心中洋溢着欢喜。就在樵夫站在旁边凝神静听时，他看到狼、狐狸和野兔走上前来。从它们面部狂怒的表情，樵夫知道它们来这儿是不怀好意的，所以他站在乐师的前面，端起斧子，就像是在说："有我这把斧子在，谁也别想伤害乐师！"这些野兽看到这情形，吓得急忙跑回了森林。乐师此刻又为樵夫拉起他最拿手的曲子，以答谢他为自己鼎力相助，赶走了野兽。拉完后他与樵夫话别，继续他的漫游。