Once upon a time there was a man and his wife, who had wished in vain for so long to have a child. The wife was hoping God would eventually grant their wish. From a small window in the back of their house a magnificent garden could be seen, which was full of the most gorgeous flowers and herbs. But the garden was surrounded by a high wall and no one dared to enter it, for the garden belonged to a mighty enchantress who was feared by the entire world.

 One day, the wife stood at this window and looked out into the garden. Just then she saw a bed, which was planted with the most delicious-looking lamb’s lettuce. They looked so fresh and green that she craved to have some and eat them. She longed to have them day in and day out.  Her desire grew steadily, but since she knew she couldn’t have any of them she pined away, looking pale and miserable.

This alarmed her husband and he asked “What ails you, woman?”

And she replied “Alas! If I don’t get to eat any of the lettuce from the garden behind our house, I shall die.”

Her husband, who loved her, thought ‘ere I let her die, I’ll go and get some of that lettuce myself, cost what it may.’ At dusk he climbed over the wall into the enchantress’s garden, hurriedly cut a handful of lamb’s lettuce, and brought them home to his wife. At once she prepared a salad and greedily ate it. She savoured it, and by the next day her craving had tripled and she was insatiable for more. If he was to have any peace, her husband would have to climb into the forbidden garden once more. At dusk he scaled the wall again, but when he had climbed down on the other side he got a fright, because the enchantress stood before him.

 “How dare you,” she said, looking at him angrily, “sneak into my garden like a common thief and steal my lamb’s lettuce? You shall pay the price for this!”

“Woe is me! Please put mercy before justice. I acted out of desperation: My wife saw your lettuce from her window and craved them so much that she should die if she would not get to eat them. “

This abated the enchantress’s wrath and she said to him, “If it bechanced as you say, I will allow you to take as many lamb’s lettuce as you will. Only I have one condition: you must give me the chil your wife will bear. It shall fare well with me, and I will care for it like a mother.”

In his horror the man agreed and when his wife went into labour and the child was born, the enchantress appeared before them, named the child “Rapunzel,” and took it away with her.

Rapunzel grew up to be the most beautiful child beneath the sun. When it turned twelve, the enchantress locked it away in the midst of a dense forest in a tower which had neither stairs nor doors, but only a small window at the very top.

 

12 years later.
 

 

“My lord, may I suggest we pitch camp here tonight?”

The tall, blonde prince halted his white steed and turned to look at this valet.  “Nonsense Reita! We are in the middle of a forest. Where would we camp here?”

His blonde valet remained calm as he brought his dark brown mare up beside his master’s steed.

“My lord, the sun will set soon and we are unlikely to reach a way station in time. The path will become too dangerous to ride on after nightfall.”

“Do you suggest camp under the open sky?”

“That was my point, yes.” The valet’s voice was flat.

The prince screwed up his nose in disgust. He looked around himself. Moss and autumn leaves covered the small path winding through the wood. Beyond that was dense forest, splintered tree trunks, rocks, underbrush, the occasional berry bushes, cobwebs and more moss. He straightened his expensive silk cloak and looked at his perfectly polished leather boots.

“Where would the beds come from? The food, the hot water?”

Prince Uruha knew that people sometimes camped out beside roads, but he did not seem to understand the concept. His valet, aware of his master’s personal shortcomings concerning the understanding of the needs of ordinary people, never blinked.

“My lord, I will ensure you are well cared for.”

This didn’t seem to convince the prince.

“…yes… surely…  but… are you hiding a mattress under that frock coat of yours?”

“No, my lord. Nonetheless, I ask you to consider stopping here. If we continue to ride into the night, the horses may stumble on the dark track and get injured. We may lose our path and get lost in the forest. Also it may still be several hours before we reach an Inn, so we might have to ride all night, with no dinner.” The manservant combed his fingers through his short blonde hair and bowed slightly. The prince, after some internal struggle, decided they would ride no further.

“It will be too dangerous to ride on tonight. Let’s stop here.”

“A wise decision of you, my Lord.” The valet agreed with slight sarcasm in his voice.

“Of course.” The prince said, totally ignorant of his valet’s cynicism.

From atop his proud steed, the handsome prince watched his equally handsome valet set up their encampment. In his neat attire the valet swiftly gathered wood, made a fire, and started preparing dinner. Darkness fell fast and Prince Uruha had finished his plate when the first owl hooted.

“What was that?” the prince’s voice was hushed.

“An owl, my lord.” Reita supplied helpfully.

“Is it dangerous?”

“Hardly.”

Reita got up and started to clean the dishes. In the distance a wolf howled.

“Did you hear that?” Prince Uruha was alarmed.

“Of course, my lord.” Reita answered unconcerned.

The howl was picked up by otherwolves in the forest.

“Is it coming closer?”

“I wouldn’t think so, my Lord.” He didn’t even look up from his task.

As the forest around them became more and more alive with sounds, Prince Uruha grew increasingly uneasy. He lay down and pulled the blanket up to his nose. After a while he said, “It is uncomfortable.”

“It is duff, my Lord. It is actually considered to be rather soft.” The valet explained, while folding his master’s clothes.

Behind them a squirrel raced through the underbrush and up into a tree. Some bushes nearby rustled as several nocturnal herbivores passed their camp side. The young lord sat bolt upright, holding on tightly to his blanket.

“Is there some wild animal in that bush?”

“Most likely, my lord. This IS a forest after all.”

A twig broke loudly only a couple of meters from their encampment which caused Prince Uruha to throw off his blanket and get up.

“Okay, that’s it. I won’t stay a minute longer. We are leaving!”

For the first time, Reita looked up at his lord and said calmly “My liege, I must emphasise that that would be a most unwise endeavour.”

“We are leaving!”

 

2 hours later.
 

 

“Reita?”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Where are we?”

There was an audible sigh.  “I am afraid I don’t know, my Lord.”

“You got us lost!”

“On the contrary, my Lord. I distinctly remember that you spurred your horse and sped off when that stack came crashing through the forest and crossed our path.” There was silence.

“May I repeat my proposal that we stay here tonight and wait for sunrise, ere we get more lost in the darkness?”

“Certainly not!” The prince reined his horse around. “We simply have to go back the way we came and end up back on the path.”

“Ah, my lord, what an excellent idea. I wonder why I never came up with that.”

 
 

The next morning.
 

 

“We must have missed the path on our way back last night!” The prince turned and shouted over his shoulder to his valet.  “Probably because it was too dark.”

“Oh no, my lord! How could that have happened?” Prince Uruha failed to register the sarcasm.

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