Not long after, my mother gave birth to me just as the witch had promised would happen. The witch named me Rapunzel after the herb that my father stole for my mother. She took me away to live in the tower with her. I have to say, I grew up to be the most beautiful girl and my hair turned a beautiful gold that shone like the sun. When I turned twelve years old, the witch made me my own room in the tower that overlooked a beautiful forest full of woodland creatures that scurried about.
When the witch wanted to enter my room, she would call out:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your hair to me.
I would take my golden braid and watch it cascade down the tower wall. From there, she would use my hair as a ladder and climb up to greet me. She always would come up to my room for my daily school lesson of either literature, mathematics, or medieval history. It was literally so boring! The witch was always scolding me for not listening and she threatened to cut my hair off if I didn't stop braiding my hair during geometry. I personally felt she was being way too hard on me.
One day while I was reading in my history book about a ferocious knight, I saw a handsome boy with golden locks and blue eyes riding a horse through the forest below. My heart began to beat fast and I got butterflies in my stomach! I knew it was love at first sight. I had to see this boy! As the witch came to my window for my daily school lesson, I let down my hair and she climbed up as usual.
After practicing my cursive, I asked her, "I want to go down and see the boy I saw outside my window."
She quickly responded, "Absolutely not Rapunzel. You are way too young to talk to boys! If you go and see this boy, I am going to lock you away for the night and you will get no supper!"
Of course I was annoyed and angry because she was keeping me from the love of my life. I knew I needed to come up with a plan, and if that meant getting rid of the witch, I would do it.
I spent the whole night coming up with a plan and it was genius!
The next morning came like it usually does with the witch coming to my window at ten o' clock sharp. She called out to me:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your hair to me.
I took my golden braid and threw it down for her to cling onto as she climbed up the side. As he feet planted onto the ground, I quickly put a sack over her head and bound her wrists with rapunzel weed. She tried to fight me, but I wasn't letting up. I then took a pair of kitchen scissors and cut off my hair. With that, I ran jumped out the window, locking it behind me. The witch was stuck for good! I snickered to myself, pleased with how my devious plan worked.
I quickly ran into the witch's bed chamber and rooted through her dresser to find something to wear. I needed to disguise myself and change my identity. This boy was not going to take me seriously if I didn't look like a young, acceptable woman. Once I adorned myself in a silk gown and pearls, I scurried out to the barn in the back of the garden, and stole one of her horses and I took off into the forest.
I rode and rode until I found I came across the boy. The charming boy was sitting on the edge of a stream eating an apple as his horse stopped for a cooling drink. I confidently announced myself and approached the boy who was startled to see me.
He walked timidly toward me and said, "You are such a beautiful girl, What is your name?"
I replied, "My name is Rachel. I was named after my mother."
He asked me to join him for a picnic lunch in a pasture up north. We mounted our horses and rode to the green fields ahead. Once we got there, he pulled out an array of cheeses and fruits and we sat pleasantly, learning more and more about each other. I told him all about me. Well, the pretend story of me. Suddenly, we heard a roaring siren in the distance and two police cars came barreling toward our picnic. Two burly police officers threw me onto my back and shoved me into the back of the car.
The poor boy was frightened by the commotion and didn't understand what was going on. The police officers explained I was being charged with assault, false imprisonment of my caretaker, the witch, and for horse theft.
I tried telling the boy this wasn't true, but he was through with me. He crossed his arms, shrugged his shoulder, and huffed away on his horse. I never saw him again.
Now I tell you this story as I sit rotting away in a prison cell. To this day, I believe my charges are completely unfair. My heart has hardened toward the witch and she hasn't come to visit me once. I personally hope she dies alone because she ratted me out. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be here.
All I have to say is: "Boys are not worth going to prison!"
P.S. "Prison life sucks and my hair regime is lacking! I am going to have to find a way to get conditioner smuggled in! Nobody wants ugly hair am I right?"
Author's Notes:
This is part two of this short story. Similar to the first part, I took my inspiration for this twist on the classic story of Rapunzel from the Brothers Grimm version The second half of the story focuses on Rapunzel telling the story after she is born. It shares details on her childhood and how she ended up witht he witch. Instead of Rapunzel being the one locked away in the tower, I wanted her to be the one to lock the witch up. She is not the victim in my version. I wanted Rapunzel to be the villain of the story instead of the witch and I made her out to be a bratty child who rebels against authority. I kept the beginning of the story the same, but I added my own original ending. The ending included her locking the witch away in the tower and running off the meet the man of her dreams. I also included more dialogue to generate better conversation between the characters and I focused the story from Rapunzel's point of view. I made Rapunzel pretend to be someone else and have a mischievous, dark side. I felt this storyline fit better with her personality and the fairytale princess's gone bad vibe I am going for. I also wanted an unexpected and original plot twist to create something new and exciting. I hope y'all enjoy!
Bibliography:
Title: Rapunzel
Author: The Brothers Grimm
Photo: Rapunzel Mugshot