In the gloom
of evening, therefore, he let himself down again; but when he had
clambered down the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the
enchantress standing before him. "How can't thou dare," said she with
angry look, "to descend into my garden and steal my rampion like a
thief? Thou shalt suffer for it!" "Ah," answered he, "let mercy
take the place of justice; I only made up my mind to do it out of
necessity. My wife saw your rampion from the window, and felt such
a longing for it that she would have died if she had not got some to
eat." Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be softened, and said
to him, "If the case be as thou sayest, I will allow thee to take
away with thee as much rampion as thou wilt, only I make one
condition--thou must give me the child which thy wife will bring into
the world; it shall be well treated and I will care for it like a
mother." The man in his terror consented to everything, and when the
woman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared at once, gave the
child the name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her.
Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child beneath the sun. When she
was twelve years old, the enchantress shut her into a tower which lay
in a forest and had neither stairs nor door, but quite at the top
was a little window. When the enchantress wanted to go in, she placed
herself beneath this, and cried cried--
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down thy hair to me.
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