Rapunzel (1)

Rapunzel (1)

Once upon a time there lived a couple who were going to have child.

They had a little window at the back of their house that looked out onto a lovely garden.
The garden was surrounded by a high wall and no one dared enter it, for it belonged to a powerful Witch.

One day, a wife stood at the window and saw a garden bed full of the finest lettuce.
When she realised she couldn't have any, she pined away and became pale and weak.
" Oh, " she moaned, " if I can't have some lettuce to eat from the garden, I shall die. "

The man, who loved her dearly, thought, " I should fetch her some lettuce, no matter what the cost. "

At sunset, the husband climbed over the wall into the Witch's garden.
He quickly gathered a handful of lettuce leaves and returned with them to his wife.
They tasted so good that her longing for the forbidden food grew stronger than ever.
If she were to have any peace of mind, her husband would have to fetch her some more.

(1/5)

《お知らせ　＆　お願い》
昨年末に連載していました、The Bronze Ring　の (4) 以降は、年末年始で言い換えのリ・トールド作業を行う予定でしたが、大幅な遅れによりまして、数日後から再開させてくださるよう、お願い申し上げます。
その間、こちらを連載させていただきます。　　店主

Rapunzel (2)

Rapunzel (2)

When the sun set, he climbed over the wall.
Then he drew back in terror, for standing before him was the Old Witch.

" How dare you steal my lettuce like a common thief ? " she demanded.
" You shall suffer for your foolhardiness ! "

" Please, spare me ! " he implored.
" My wife saw your lettuce from her window. She had such a desire for it that she would certainly have died if she could not have a taste. "

Then the Witch grew a little less angry.
She said, " if that's so, you may take as much lettuce as you like, but no one condition : you will give me your child when it is born. I will look after it like a mother. "

In his terror, the man agreed.

As soon as the child was born, it was taken away by the Witch.
She named the girl Rapunzel, which is  the name of the lettuce the child's mother so desired.

Rapunzel was the most beautiful child under the sun.
When she was twelve years old, the Witch shut her up in a tower in the middle of a great wood.

The tower had no stairs or doors and only a small window at the very top.
When the Witch wanted to get in, she stood under the window and called out:
" Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. "

Rapunzel had beautiful, long hair as fine as spun gold.
When she heard the Witch calling, she let her braid of hair fall down and the old Witch climbed up it to the top of the tower.

(2/5) 

Rapunzel (3)

Rapunzel (3)

One day, a few years later, a Prince was riding through the wood.

As he approached the tower, he heard someone singing so beautifully that he stopped and listened, entranced.
It was Rapunzel, who, in her loneliness, passed the time by singing songs.
Her lovely voice ringing out into the forest.

The Prince longed to see who was singing, but there was no door in the tower.
He was so captivated that he returned to the wood every day.

One day, he was listening from behind a tree when he saw the old Witch. He heard her call out :
" Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. "

Rapunzel let down her hair and the Witch climbed up.



" If that's the way into the tower, I'll try my luck, " thought the Prince.

The next day at sunset, the Prince went to the foot of the tower and cried out :
" Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. "

As soon as Rapunzel let it down, the Prince climbed up.

At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened by this young man she had never met before.
However, the Prince spoke to her kindly and gently.
He told her that his heart had been so touched by her singing that he could not rest until he had met her.
Very soon Rapunzel forgot her fear.

The Prince visited her often.

(3/5)  

Rapunzel (4)

Rapunzel (4)

When he asked her to marry him, she said, " I will gladly marry you, only how am I to get out of the tower ? "

She thought for a moment and said, " Every time you visit, bring a skein of silk. I will make a ladder. When it is finished, I will climb down and you can take me away on your house. "

The prince visited every evening because the Witch came during the day.

The Witch knew nothing about this until one day Rapunzel, not thinking, asked the Witch, " Why are you so much harder to pull up than the Prince ? He is always with me a moment. "

" Wicked child ! " cried Witch.
" I thought I had hidden you from the whole world, yet you have still managed to trick me. "

She grabbed Rapunzel's beautiful hair and picked up a pair of scissors.
Snip ! Snip !
Off it came.
The beautiful golden plait lay down on the floor.
The Witch was so cruel that she sent Rapunzel to a lonely desert to live in misery.

That evening, the Witch fastened the braid of hair to a hook in the window.
The Prince came and called out :
" Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. "

The Witch threw the plait down, and the Prince climbed up.

Instead of his dear Rapunzel. he found the old Witch, laughing mockingly, " Ha ha. You thought o find a pretty bird but she has flown away and won't sing any more. You will never see her again ! "

The Prince was overcome with grief.
In his despair, he jumped from the tower.
He escaped with his life, but he fell in a thorn bush. The sharp thorns pierced his eyes and he could no longer see.

(4/5)

Rapunzel (5 完)

Rapunzel (5 完)

The Prince wondered, blind and miserable, through the forest.

He ate nothing but roots and berries, and wept and mourned the loss of his beloved bride.
He wondered like this from place to place for many years, as wretched and unhappy as it was possible to be.

At last, the poor blind Prince wandered to the desert where Rapunzel was living.
He was roaming about in despair when he suddenly heard a familiar voice singing.
The Prince eagerly followed the lovely sound, and when he was quite close, Rapunzel saw him and recognized him.

Rapunzel threw her arms around the prince's neck and wept for joy at seeing him again and for sorrow at his poor sightless eyes.

But then two of her tears fell into his eyes, immediately, the Prince's eyes became clear and he could see as well as he had ever done.

The Prince led Rapunzel to his kingdom, where they were received and welcomed with great joy and relief.
They were married and lived happily ever after.

(5/5 完)