Rapunzel

Once upon a time there was a man and his wife who had the bad luck to live next door to a witch. They longed to have a child, and at last their wish was granted.

One day, the wife had a craving for some wild garlic, called Rapunzel, growing in the witch’s garden. Her husband picked some for her, and she ate it. The next day he went back for more. And on the third … the witch pounced on him!

“Why are you stealing my wild garlic?” she asked. The man explained that his wife had a craving for the plant. “Well, I won’t harm you, but you must give me the baby she is going to have,” said the witch. The man, fearing for his life, agreed.

When the time came, the wife gave birth to a lovely baby girl. But the witch came to take the baby away. She was called Rapunzel, just like the wild garlic plant.

The witch brought up Rapunzel and, when she was twelve, locked her in a high tower that had no door or stairway.

Rapunzel had beautiful, long hair, and when the witch wanted to visit her, she stood at the foot of the tower and sang,

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, that I may climb without a stair.”

And then she would climb up Rapunzel’s hair.

Years later, a prince was riding by the tower when he heard beautiful singing. He saw a lovely young woman at the window. Then he heard the witch’s rusty voice calling, and watched her climb up the cascade of hair.

The next day, the prince came back and called out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, that I may climb without a stair.” Rapunzel lowered her hair as usual, but how surprised she was to see the prince!

After that he came to see her every day, and soon they were in love. The prince promised to bring silk so that Rapunzel could weave a ladder and escape from the high tower.

But one day, silly Rapunzel said to the witch, “I wonder why you are so much heavier than the prince? It never hurts my hair so much when he climbs up to visit me.”

Snip, snap! The witch put an end to Rapunzel’s romance by cutting off her lovely, long hair. How sorry Rapunzel was for her foolishness!

The witch spirited Rapunzel away and left her in a desert, where the poor girl wandered around, lost and alone. She had lots of time to feel sorry for letting the witch know she had a prince visiting her.

Meanwhile, the wicked witch had tied Rapunzel’s hair to the window frame. When she heard the prince call, she let down the golden tresses as usual. Now it was the prince’s turn for a surprise— and a very nasty one!

He tumbled down from the high tower, and the witch made him go blind. He crawled away, unable to see where he was going.

For years, the prince wandered around the world, searching for his lost love, Rapunzel. After a long time, he found himself in a desert. He was hot, tired, and thirsty. And then he heard a lovely voice singing such a sad song that it made him weep.

“Rapunzel!” he cried. “Rapunzel, can it be you?” It was Rapunzel! She ran over to the prince and threw her arms around him. When she saw that her prince was now blind, she cried. Her tears fell into his eyes, and suddenly he could see again. Rapunzel and her prince were married, and they never saw the witch again. And Rapunzel’s hair grew almost as long as before!

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Versi bahasa Indonesia

Rapunzel

Dahulu kala ada sepasang suami dan istri yang bernasib buruk tinggal berdampingan dengan seorang penyihir. Mereka mendambakan seorang anak, dan akhirnya doa mereka terkabul.

Suatu hari, istri mengidam bawang putih liar, yang disebut Rapunzel, tumbuh di sekitar kebun penyihir. Suaminya mengambil beberapa untuknya, dan ia memakannya. Di kemudian hari suami kembali lagi. Dan yang ketiga kalinya… penyihir memergokinya!

“Kenapa kamu mencuri bawang putih liarku?” Tanya penyihir. Lelaki tersebut menjelaskan bahwa istrinya mengidam. “Baiklah, aku tak akan menyakitimu, tapi kamu harus memberikan bayi yang sedang ia kandung,” kata penyihir. Lelaki tersebut, dengan penuh ketakutan, menyetujui.

Ketika waktunya tiba, istri melahirkan bayi perempuan yang cantik. Namun penyihir datang untuk merebut bayi itu. Ia memanggilnya Rapunzel, sama seperti nama bawang putih liar.

Penyihir itu membawa Rapunzel dan, ketika Rapunzel berumur dua belas tahun, mengurungnya di menara tinggi yang tidak ada pintu atau tangga.

Rapunzel memiliki kecantikan, rambut yang panjang, dan ketika penyihir mengunjunginya, ia berdiri di muka menara dan berteriak.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, turunkan rambutmu, yang mana mungkin aku bisa memanjat tanpa tangga.”

Kemudian ia akan memanjat rambut Rapunzel.

Beberapa tahun kemudian, seorang pangeran lewat menara dan mendengar nyanyian yang merdu. Ia melihat seorang gadis muda cantik di jendela. Kemudian ia mendengar suara penyihir yang parau memanggil, dan menyaksikannya memanjat naik juntaian rambut.

Hari berikutnya, pangeran kembali dan memanggil, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, turunkan rambutmu, bagaimana bisa aku memanjat tanpa tangga.” Rapunzel menurunkan rambutnya seperti biasanya, tapi betapa terkejutnya ia memandang seorang pangeran!

Setelah pangeran datang menjenguk setiap hari, dan kemudian mereka saling jatuh hati. Pangeran berjanji akan membawakan benang sutera sehingga Rapunzel bisa menenun sebuah tangga dan kabur dari menara tinggi itu.

Namun suatu hari, Rapunzel yang polos berkata kepada penyihir, “Aku heran kenapa kamu lebih berat dari pangeran? Hal itu tak pernah membuat rambutku sakit tatkala ia naik mengunjungiku.”

Tersentaklah! Penyihir mengakhiri kisah asmara Rapunzel dengan memotong rambut indahnya yang panjang. Betapa menyesalnya Rapunzel atas kecerobohannya itu!

Penyihir akhirnya merapal mantra membuat Rapunzel hilang dan meninggalkannya di sebuah gurun, dimana gadis malang itu berkalana, tersesat dan sendiri. Ia punya banyak waktu menyesali perbuatannya membuat penyihir tahu pangeran mengunjunginya.

Sementara itu, penyihir yang jahat telah mengikat rambut Rapunzel ke bingkai jendela. Ketika ia mendengar pangeran memanggil, ia membiarkan pohon keemasan itu turun seperti biasanya. Sekarang pangeran terkejut seketika- dan si jahat.

Pangeran terguling jatuh dari menara, dan penyihir membuatnya buta. Dia merangkak menjauh, tak bisa melihat kemana ia pergi.

Bertahun-tahun, pangeran berkelana mengelilingi dunia, mencari cintanya yang hilang, Rapunzel. Setelah sekian lama, ia rasakan dirinya berada di sebuah gurun. Dia kepanasan, lelah, dan haus. Dan kemudian ia mendengar nyanyian suara merdu seperti lagu sedih yang membuatnya mengucurkan air mata.

“Rapunzel!” pangeran memanggil. “Rapunzel, itukah engkau?” Itu dia Rapunzel! Rapunzel berlari ke arah pangeran dan memeluknya. Ketika ia tahu bahwa pangerannya sekarang buta, ia menangis. Air matanya menitik ke mata pangeran, dan tiba-tiba saja pangeran bisa melihat lagi. Rapunzel dan pangeran akhirnya menikah, dan mereka tidak pernah bertemu penyihir itu lagi. Dan rambut Rapunzel tumbuh hampir sama panjangnya seperti dulu.

(Cerita diterjemahkan Joesin Translation dari buku "A First Book of Fairy Tales dan Myths" karya Mary Hoffman)