Rapunzel

Rapunzel tells the story of a couple that lives next to a walled garden belonging to a witch. The wife, experiencing the cravings associated with the arrival of her long-awaited pregnancy, notices a rapunzel plant, growing in the garden and longs for it.  One night, her husband breaks into the garden to get some for her.  It tastes so good that she longs for more. So her husband goes to get some for her a second time. As he scales the wall to return home, an evil witch named Dame Gothel catches him and accuses him of theft.  He begs for mercy, and allows him to take all he wants, on condition that the baby be given to her at birth.  He is so desperate that he agrees.  When the baby is born, Dame Gothel takes her to raise as her own and names her Rapunzel after the plant her mother craved. Rapunzel grows up to be the most beautiful child in the world with long golden hair.  When she reaches her twelfth year, Dame Gothel shuts her away in a tower in the middle of the woods, with no stairs or a door. When she visits her, she stands beneath the tower and calls out for her to let down her hair.

Rapunzel is a classic fairytale that would be an excellent addition to a unit on fairytales.  Also this version features beautiful illustrations to describe the rewritten Grimm’s tale.  

 Zelinsky, P., & Beniker, A. (1997). Rapunzel. New York: Dutton Children's Books.