Classic Fairy Tale

Rapunzel 

Collected by The Grimm Brothers (original author Friedrich Schulz 1790), 1812

This is one of the most classic and known fairy tales of all time. The story is about a couple who lives next to a beautiful garden owned by a witch and the woman is experiencing uncontrollable cravings from her pregnancy and orders her husband to go into the garden and steal so she can eat it. The husband gets caught by the witch and in return for the stolen goods she orders the couple to give her their child they are expecting. She becomes the most beautiful girl with the longest hair so the which locks her away in a tower with no door or stairs, only to be accessible by Rapunzel letting her hair down to climb to the top. One day a prince hears her singing and goes up the tower and they fall in love and Rapunzel accidentally tells the witch and she is sent far away. The prince goes to help her escape and finds the witch instead and the prince travels for a long time until her finally finds Rapunzel and theit twins she birthed and they live happily ever after!

I love fairy tales because they always end in a happy ending and they always have a wonderful story leading up to it! These stories are always so imaginative and wonderful to read because they could never possibly happen, but they make you feel happy and like you're escaping reality for a short time. It is such a great genre for children to read and enjoy. This story in particular is one of my favorites and has been rewritten many times and even turned into a movie. 

Response Questions

• If you could be in any fairy tale story, which would it be?
• What is your favorite fairy tale you've read?

Motivational Activities

Have the students brainstorm and create a fairy tale of their own. They can uses other fairy tales as examples to help create their own characters and story line with its very own happy ending! Once they have their short fairy tales written have them sit in a circle and read them aloud to each other. 

Other Fairy Tales by the Grimm Brothers...
Cinderella
Rumpelstiltskin
Snow White


Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, "Rapunzel," Kinder- und Hausmärchen, gesammelt durch die Brüder Grimm [Children's and Household Tales -- Grimms' Fairy Tales], 7th ed., vol. 1 (Göttingen: Verlag der Dieterichschen Buchhandlung, 1857), no. 12, pp. 65-69.