Foal’s and Household Tales
Mordread and Draco Grim
Rapunzel
Once upon a time there was a mare and a stallion who had long, but to no avail, wished for a child. Finally the mare came to believe that the good Sun would fulfill her wish. Through the small rear window of these ponies'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 nopony dared enter, because it belonged to a Unicorn witch, called Dame Gothel, who possessed great magic and was feared by everypony.
One day the mare was standing at this window, and she saw a bed planted with the most beautiful rapunzel. It looked so fresh and green that she longed for some. It was her greatest desire to eat some of the 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 stallion, 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 jumped over the high wall into the sorceress's garden, hastily dug up a hooffull 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 jump into the garden once again. Thus he set forth once again just as it was getting dark. But no sooner than he had jumped over the wall than, to his horror, he saw the Unicorn standing there before him.
"How can you dare," she asked with an angry look, "to jump 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, at home and with foal, saw your rapunzel from our window, and such a longing came over her, that she would die, if she did not get some to eat."
The Unicorn'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 foal that your wife will bring to the world. It will do well, and I will take care of it like a mother."
In his fear the stallion agreed to everything.
When the mare gave birth, the Unicorn appeared, named the little filly Rapunzel, and took her away. Rapunzel became the most beautiful filly under the sun. When she was twelve years old, the Unicorn 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 Unicorn wanted to enter, she stood below and called out:
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your mane.
So that I may climb,
the golden chain.”
Rapunzel had a splendid long mane, as fine as spun gold. When she heard the Unicorn's voice, she untied her braids, wound them around a window hook, let her mane fall twenty yards to the ground, and the Unicorn climbed up it.
A few years later it happened that a king's son was trotting 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 Unicorn approach, and heard her say:
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your mane.
So that I may climb,
the golden chain.”
Then Rapunzel let down her strands of mane, and the Unicorn 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 mane.
So that I may climb,
the golden chain.”
The mane fell down, and the prince climbed up.
At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a stallion such as she had never seen before came in to 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. 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 Dame Gothel." She said yes and placed her hoof 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." They arranged that he would come to her every evening, for the old mare came by day.
The Unicorn did not notice what was happening until one day Rapunzel said to her, "Dame 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 wicked child," cried the Unicorn. "What am I hearing from you? I thought I had removed you from the whole world, but you have deceived me nonetheless."
In her anger she grabbed Rapunzel's beautiful mane, wrapped it a few times around her left hoof, grasped a pair of scissors with her magic, 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 fairy tied the cut-off mane to the hook at the top of the tower, and when the prince called out:
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your mane.
So that I may climb,
the golden chain.”
she let down the mane.
The prince climbed up, but above, instead of his beloved Rapunzel, he found the Unicorn, 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 forelegs 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.
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, Twist, Dinky Doo, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara were having a campout in the Sweet Apple Acres barn. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon did not attend willingly. Filthy Rich had demanded that his daughter attend the campout in a desperate attempt to improve her social skills. She had demanded that her best friend come, so she wouldn’t be alone with, “a bunch of losers, lame-os, and blank flanks.” Most of the group had settled down in a large pile of hay, but Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were sitting on pillows they had brought from home. The sun had set, and the fillies were gathered around a lantern on the floor, debating on what to do.
“Mah brother and sister don’t want us wanderin’ around the orchard after dark, so we can’t go outside.” Apple Bloom severely limited their options.
“This campout stinks!” Said Diamond Tiara, for the umpteenth time. “I’m only here because Dad threatened to cut off my allowance.”
“Why don’t you stop complaining and think of something to do.” Scootaloo was tired of Diamond Tiara’s complaining.
“I have an idea!” Dinky chimed in. “I brought a book of scary stories. We can take turns reading them.” She pulled a large book out of her saddlebags.
Silver Spoon grabbed the book away from Dinky. “’Foal’s and Household Tales’? This is a book of Summerwing Tales, not scary stories.”
“Yeah, but it’s by Mordread and Draco Grim. The Brothers Grim wrote scary Summerwing Tales.” Dinky defended herself. “Besides, that’s the only scary book the Dragon at the library would let me check out.” She added, sheepishly. “So, do we read, or not?”
“I think it could be fun,” said Twist.
“I’m in,” the Cutie Mark Crusaders chimed in all at once.
“Sure, why not?” added Silver Spoon.
The group looked at Diamond Tiara, who was still holding the book. “Fine, but you’d better not be wasting my time.” She opened the book and began reading out loud. “Rapunzel…”
