Rapunzel

[Music] [Applause] [Music] Once upon a time very long ago, there lived a beautiful young girl in a high tower. Her name was Rapunzel, and she had long, beautiful yellow hair, as fine as spun gold. Witch had taken Rapunzel from her mother and father because they had stolen the witch's radishes. And now the old woman had locked Rapunzel in a lonely tower that had no doors and only one window at the very top. Each day when the witch came to visit the young girl, she took great care to be sure that no one would see her. Then she would call, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. [Music] Rapunzel had to do as she was told, and soon her hair would ripple down over the windowsill like a gleaming golden waterfall. Then the old witch would cast a magic spell, and Rapunzel's hair would form into braids all by itself. [Music] The silken braids made a long golden rope for the old witch to climb. [Music] The old woman was very jealous of Rapunzel's beauty. Each day she would sit for hours watching her. They lived this way for several years until one day a prince walking along the mountain path chanced to see the tower. [Music] He was surprised to find a tower in such a lonely place. Wanting to enter, he looked about for a door, but found there was none. Never before had he seen such a strange building with no possible way to enter. Just then, the old witch came hobbling up the path. [Music] The prince had heard of the old woman who had magic powers. He did not want her to see him until he knew just what she was up to. The old woman did not see the princess. She called as usual. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. And once again, Rapunzel's long yellow hair would ripple like a golden waterfall down the side of the tower. The prince had never before seen such beautiful hair and such a lovely face. And again the witch would cast her magic spell. [Music] So that is how one enters the tower, thought the prince, and he waited for hours for the old witch to leave, so that he could speak to the beautiful girl with a long golden hair. [Music] [Music] When the prince was sure that the old witch had gone, he called just as the witch had done. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. [Music] Rapunzel, thinking the old witch wished to climb back into the tower, lowered her braided hair once again. [Music] Rapunzel was afraid of the prince, for she had never seen a young man before. But he was so kind and courteous that she soon forgot her fear. [Music] And now that the prince saw Rapunzel quite closely, she was even more beautiful than he had thought. And when he knelt and gallantly kissed her hand, it made Rapunzel very happy. [Music] [Applause] The prince promised to return the following day and free her from her prison tower. [Music] The next day, the witch came to the tower at the usual time. Rapunzel absent-mindedly said to the witch, "How is it that you take so long to climb up to the window while the prince climbed so swiftly?" Then she realized what she had said. "Oh, you wicked girl!" cried the old witch. "I thought I had you safely hidden from everyone. Oh, how you have deceived me." And in a fit of anger, she seized a pair of scissors and cut off those long, wonderful golden braids. Just then, the prince arrived at the foot tower. He called, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." So thought the old witch, he has come back for her. And in her wicked mind, she planned to cast a magic spell upon the gallum prince and blind him so he could never again see Rapunzel. [Music] The poor prince escaped with his life, but the witch's curse left him blind and helpless. He sadly wandered off into the mountains, knowing that he could never look into the beautiful eyes of Rapunzel again. To punish Rapunzel for deceiving her and attempting to run away, the hard-hearted old witch took her to a faraway desert and left her there with only bare rocks and a crude log shelter to protect her from the wind and the sun. The girl pleaded with the witch to take her back to the tower, but the ugly old woman had a heart of stone and would not listen. [Music] For many months, Rapunzel lived alone in the desert with nothing to eat but the roots of desert plants. Until one day, the blind prince, who had been searching all over the land, chanced upon the very spot where his beloved Rapunzel was living. [Music] when she saw Her gallant prince was blind. She wept. A large tear fell upon his eyes. It broke the witch's evil spell. And happily the prince once more could see his beautiful Rapunzel. [Music] The prince was sad to see her beautiful golden hair so short. But now that the magic spell was broken, when he touched her hair, it began to grow longer and longer until its wavy strands glistened again in the sunlight. The prince then took his beloved Rapunzel back to his castle, where they had a royal wedding, and they lived happily ever after. [Music]