A (9:42)
It's story time, Rapunzel. Once upon a time, there was a man and a woman who had long, but to no avail, wished for a child. Finally, the woman came to believe that the good Lord would fulfill her wish. Through the small rear window of these people's house, they could see into a splendid garden that was filled with the most beautiful flowers and herbs. The garden was surrounded by a high wall and no one dared enter because it belonged to a sorceress who possessed great power and was feared by everyone. One day, the woman was standing at this window and she saw a bed planted with the most beautiful Rapunzel. Rapunzel is a kind of spinach like plant with pale purple flowers. It looked so fresh and green that she longed for some. It was her greatest desire to eat some of them. Rapunzel. This desire increased with every day, and not knowing how to get any, she became miserably ill. Her husband was frightened and asked her, what ails you, dear wife? Oh, she answered, if I do not get some Rapunzel from the garden behind our house, I shall die. The man who loved her dearly thought, before you let your wife die, you must get her some of the Rapunzel, whatever the cost. So, just as it was getting dark, he climbed over the high wall into the sorceress's garden, hastily dug up a handful of Rapunzel and took it to his wife. She immediately made a salad from it, which she devoured eagerly. It tasted so very good to her that by the next day her desire for more had grown threefold. If she were to have any peace, the man would have to climb into the garden once again. Thus he set forth once again, just as it was getting dark. But no sooner than he had climbed over the wall, than to his horror, he saw the sorceress standing there before him. How can you dare, she asked with an angry look, to climb into my garden and like a thief, to steal my Rapunzel? You will pay for this. Oh, he answered, let mercy overrule justice. I came to do this out of necessity. My wife saw your Rapunzel from her window and such a longing came over her that she would die if she did not get some to eat. The sorceress's anger abated somewhat and she said, if things are as you say, I will allow you to take as much Rapunzel as you want. But under one condition. You must give me the child that your wife will bring into the world. It will do well, and I will take care of it. Like a mother. In his fear, the man agreed to everything. When the woman gave birth, the sorceress appeared, named the little girl Rapunzel, and took her away. Rapunzel became the most beautiful child under the sun. When she was 12 years old, the sorceress locked her in a tower that stood in a forest and that had neither a door nor a stairway, but only a tiny little window at the very top. When the sorceress wanted to answer, she stood below and called out, rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me. Rapunzel had splendid long hair, as fine as spun gold. When she heard the sorceress's voice, she untied her braids, wound them around a window hook, let her hair fall 20 yards to the ground, and the sorceress climbed up it. A few years later, it happened that a king's son was riding through the forest. As he approached the tower, he heard a song so beautiful that he stopped to listen. It was Rapunzel who was passing the time by singing with her sweet voice. The prince wanted to climb up to her and looked for a door in the tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the song had so touched his heart that he returned to the forest every day and listened to it. One time, as he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw the sorceress approach and heard her say, rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. Then Rapunzel let down her strands of hair, and the sorceress climbed up them to her. If that is the ladder into the tower, then sometime I will try my luck. And the next day, just as it was beginning to get dark, he went to the tower and called out, rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. The hair fell down and the prince climbed up. At first, Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as she had never seen before came into her. However, the prince began talking to her in a very friendly manner, telling her that his heart had been so touched by her singing that he could have no peace until he had seen her in person. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him as her husband, she thought, he would rather have me than would old Frau Gothel. So frau means missus. So she's saying that the prince seems to want her more than Mrs. Gothel does. And Mrs. Gothel would be the sorceress? She said yes, and placed her hand into his. She said, I would go with you gladly, but I do not know how to get down. Every time that you come, bring a strand of silk from which I will weave a ladder. When it is finished, I will climb down and you can take me away on your horse. They arranged that he would come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day. The sorceress did not notice what was happening, until one day Rapunzel said to her, frau Gothel, tell me why it is that you are more difficult to pull up than is the young prince who will be arriving any moment now. You godless child. Cried the sorceress. What am I hearing from you? I thought I had removed you from the whole world, but you have deceived me none the less. In her anger, she grabbed Rapunzel's beautiful hair, wrapped it a few times around her left hand, grasped a pair of scissors with her right hand, and snip, snap, cut it off. And she was so unmerciful that she took Rapunzel into a wilderness where she suffered greatly. On the evening of the same day that she sent Rapunzel away, the sorceress tied the cut off hair to the hook at the top of the tower. And when the prince called out, rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. She let down the hair. The prince climbed up, but above, instead of his beloved Rapunzel, he found the sorceress, who peered at him with poisonous and evil looks. Aha. She cried scornfully. You have come for your mistress, darling. But that beautiful bird is no longer sitting in her nest, nor is she singing any more. The cat got her and will scratch your eyes out as well. You have lost Rapunzel. You will never see her again. The prince was overcome with grief, and in his despair he threw himself from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell poked out his eyes. Blind, he wandered about in the forest, eating nothing but grass and roots, and doing nothing but weeping and wailing over the loss of his beloved wife. Thus he wandered about miserably for some years, finally happening into the wilderness where Rapunzel lived miserably with the twins that she had given birth to. He heard a voice and thought it was familiar. He advanced toward it, and as he approached, Rapunzel recognized him and, crying, threw her arms around his neck. Two of her tears fell into his eyes and they became clear once again, and he could See? As well as before, he led her into his kingdom, where he was received with joy. And for a long time they lived happily and satisfied. Rumpelstiltskin. Once upon a time there was a miller who was poor but had a beautiful daughter. Now it happened that he got into a conversation with the king, and to make an impression on him, he said, I have a daughter who can spin straw into gold. The king said to the that is an art that I really like. If your daughter is as skillful as you say, then bring her to my castle tomorrow and I will put her to the test. When the girl was brought to him, he led her into a room that was entirely filled with straw, giving her a spinning wheel and a reel, meaning like a spool, to collect the thread. He said, get to work. Now spin all night, and if by morning you have not spun this straw into gold, then you will have to die. Then he himself locked the room, and she was there all alone. The poor miller's daughter sat there, and for her life she did not know what to do. She had no idea how to spin straw into gold. She became more and more afraid and finally began to cry. Then suddenly the door opened. A little man stepped inside and said, good evening, Mistress Miller. Why are you crying so? Oh, answered the girl, I am supposed to spin straw into gold, and I do not know how to do it. The little man said, what will you give me if I spin it for you? My necklace, said the girl. The little man took the necklace, sat down before the spinning wheel and whirr, whirr, whirr, three times pulled, and the spool was full. Then he put another one on, and were, were, were three times pulled, and the second one was full as well. So it went until morning, and then all the straw was spun and all the spools were filled with gold. At sunrise the king came, and when he saw the gold, he was surprised and happy. But his heart became even more greedy for gold. He had the miller's daughter taken to another room filled with straw. It was even larger, and he ordered her to spin it in one night if she valued her life. The girl did not know what to do, and she cried once again. The door opened and the little man appeared. He said, what will you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you? The ring from my finger, answered the girl. The little man took the ring and began once again to whir with the spinning wheel. By morning he had spun all the straw into glistening gold. The king was happy beyond measure when he saw it. But he still did not have his fill of gold. He had the miller's daughter taken to a still larger room filled with straw and said, tonight you must spin this too. If you succeed, you shall become my wife, he thought, even if she is only a miller's daughter, I will not find a richer wife in all the world. When the girl was alone, the little man returned for a third time. He said, what will you give me if I spring the straw this time? I have nothing more that I could give you, answered the girl. Then promise me. After you are queen, your first child, who knows what will happen? Thought the miller's daughter. And not knowing what else to do, she promised the little man what he demanded in return. The little man once again spun the straw into gold. When in the morning the king came and found everything just as he desired, he married her, and the beautiful miller's daughter became queen. A year later, she brought a beautiful child into the world. She thought no more about the little man. But suddenly he appeared in her room and said, now give me that which you promised. The queen took fright and offered the little man all the wealth of the kingdom if he would let her keep the child. But the little man said, no, something living is dearer to me than all the treasures of the world. Then the queen began lamenting and crying so much that the little man took pity on her and said, I will give you three days time. If by then you know my name, then you shall keep your child. The queen spent the entire night thinking of all the names she had ever heard. Then she sent a messenger into the country to inquire far and wide what other names there were. When the little man returned the next day, she began with Caspar, Melchior, Bowser, and said in order all the names she knew after each one. The little man said, that is not my name. The second day she sent inquiries into the neighborhood as to what names people had. She recited the most unusual and most curious names to the little man. Is your name perhaps Bistrib or Mutton, Calf, or Leg String? But he always answered, that is not my name. On the third day the messenger returned and said, I have not been able to find a single new name. But when I was approaching a high mountain in the corner of the woods, there where the fox and the hare say good night, I saw a little house. A fire was burning in front of the house, and an altogether comical little man was jumping around the fire, hopping on one leg and calling out, today I'll bake, tomorrow I'll brew. Then I'll fetch the Queen's new child. It is good that no one knows. Rumpelstiltskin is my name. You can imagine how happy the Queen was when she heard that name. Soon afterward, the little man came in and asked, now, Madam Queen, what is my name? She first asked, is your name Kuntz? Nope. Is your name Heinz? Nope. Is your name perhaps Rumpelstiltskin? The devil told you that. The devil told you that. Shouted the little man, and with anger he stomped his right foot so hard into the ground that he fell in up to his waist. Then, with both hands, he took hold of his left foot and ripped himself up the middle in two. The Frog King or Iron Heinrich in olden times, when wishing still did some good, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful. But the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, who indeed has seen so much, marveled every time it shone upon her face. In the vicinity of the king's castle there was a large dark forest. And in this forest, beneath an old linden tree, there was a well. In the heat of the day, the princess would go out into the forest and sit on the edge of the cool well. To pass the time, she would take a golden ball, throw it into the air, and then catch it. It was her favorite plaything. Now, one day it happened that the princess's golden ball did not fall into her hands that she held up high, but instead it fell to the ground and rolled right into the water. The princess followed it with her eyes, but the ball disappeared and the well was so deep that she could not see its bottom. Then she began to cry. She cried louder and louder, and she could not console herself. As she was thus lamenting. Someone called out to her, what is the matter with you, Princess? Your crying would turn a stone to pity. She looked around to see where the voice was coming from, and saw a frog who had stuck his thick, ugly head out of the water. Oh, it's you, old water splasher, she said. I am crying because my golden ball has fallen into the well. Be still and stop crying, answered the frog. I can help you, but what will you give me if I bring back your plaything?
