Story Voice

Rapunzel Story

Rapunzel is a classic story from Grimms' Fairy Tales, for children aged 3–7. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 2 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 2 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

The Grimms' tale of the girl with long golden hair kept in a tower by a witch, the prince who climbs up, and the tears that heal his eyes. In simple English with narration, plus the Chinese version in Mandarin.

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Tap any sentence in the story to start reading from there. It stops at the end.

A narrator, and a voice of its own for each character: Rapunzel, the witch, the prince

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Read Rapunzel

A man and his wife lived beside a witch's garden full of sweet green lettuce. The wife wanted some, so one night the man climbed the wall.

The witch was waiting. "You dare to steal my lettuce!" she said. "When your child is born, give her to me." The frightened man agreed.

The witch took the baby and named her Rapunzel. Her golden hair grew very long. She kept her in a tower and called, "Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

A prince heard her sing and saw the witch's trick. When she left, he called too and climbed up.

Rapunzel was scared. "Don't be afraid," said the prince. "I only want to hear you sing." They became friends.

But the witch found out. She cut Rapunzel's hair and sent her away. The prince fell into thorns and could not see.

He wandered a long time. Then he heard her song. "It's you!" cried Rapunzel. Her tears fell on his eyes, and he could see again. They lived happily ever after.

The Chinese version: 长发公主

从前，有一对夫妻住在女巫的花园旁边。园子里种着又嫩又绿的莴苣，妻子很想吃，丈夫就在夜里翻过墙去摘。

女巫正等着他呢。“你敢偷我的莴苣！”她冷冷地说，“等你们的孩子出生，就得交给我。”丈夫吓坏了，只好答应。

孩子出生后，女巫把她带走，取名长发公主。她长大了，一头金发又长又亮。女巫把她关进一座没有门的高塔，每次来都在塔下喊：“长发公主，把头发放下来！”

一天，一位王子经过，听见塔里的歌声，又看见了女巫的办法。等女巫走了，他也喊了一声。金色的辫子垂了下来，王子顺着爬了上去。

长发公主吓了一跳。王子轻轻地说：“别怕，我只是想听你唱歌。”从那以后，他每天傍晚都来，两个人成了好朋友。

可是女巫发现了。她剪掉长发公主的辫子，把她送到很远的荒野去。王子再来时，从塔上跌进了带刺的灌木丛，眼睛被扎到，一时什么也看不见。

王子摸着黑走了很久。一天，他听见熟悉的歌声，长发公主扑过来抱住他：“是你！你终于来了！”她的眼泪落在王子的眼睛上，王子眨了眨眼，又能看见了。他们回到王国，从此快乐地生活在一起。

Rapunzel Story: the moral of the story

Don't lose hope when you are shut in. People who truly care about you will find a way to you, and kindness and tears can be stronger than magic.

Chinese words in Rapunzel

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

  • 长发公主cháng fà gōng zhǔ

    Rapunzel (the long-haired princess)

  • 女巫nǚ wū

    witch

  • 莴苣wō jù

    lettuce

  • 高塔gāo tǎ

    tall tower

  • 头发tóu fa

    hair

  • 辫子biàn zi

    braid

  • 王子wáng zǐ

    prince

  • 眼泪yǎn lèi

    tears

For families learning Mandarin

Mandarin learning pack

Print the story, read it together, then listen and say it back. Made for heritage families and children learning Mandarin.

  • A printable PDF (4 pages): the Chinese story with pinyin over every character, the words to know, the English version, questions to talk about, and character writing practice.
  • Slow Mandarin audio (5 min): every sentence at a gentler pace, followed by a pause long enough to say it back.

Buy once, download again any time. The story itself stays free to read and hear. Try the free sample pack (The Tortoise and the Hare) first.

Page one of the Rapunzel learning pack: the Chinese story with pinyin over every character

Bedtime storytelling tips

  • Call "Rapunzel, let down your hair!" in a low, drawn-out witch's voice, then let your child call it for the prince.
  • Read the thorns slowly and quietly, without making it scary, and go straight on to the tears that heal his eyes.
  • Point to your own hair at "let down your hair" and give the Chinese: 头发 (tóu fa). The tower is 高塔 (gāo tǎ).

Things to talk about afterwards

  • Why did the witch keep Rapunzel in the tower?
  • How did the prince climb up the tower?
  • Why do you think Rapunzel's tears could heal the prince's eyes?

Read this story to your child in your own voice

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Rapunzel Story: common questions

What is the moral of Rapunzel?
Don't give up hope when you are shut in. Rapunzel keeps singing, the prince keeps looking for her, and in the end they find each other again and her tears heal his eyes.
Who wrote Rapunzel?
It was collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as tale 12 of their Children's and Household Tales. The name Rapunzel is a salad plant, the one the father steals from the witch's garden.
Is Rapunzel too scary for young children?
Our retelling is written for ages 3–7. The prince's fall into the thorns is told gently, he only loses his sight for a while, and the story ends happily.
Is there a Chinese version of Rapunzel?
Yes. In Chinese she is 长发公主 (cháng fà gōng zhǔ), the long-haired princess, or 莴苣姑娘 (wō jù gū niang), the lettuce girl. This page has our Chinese retelling with Mandarin narration next to the English one.

Source and how we retold it

Grimms' Fairy Tales, tale 12 (Rapunzel), first published in 1812 and now in the public domain. Our retelling follows the Grimms' plot and does not use any existing Chinese translation. In the original the prince falls into thorns, loses his sight and wanders for years; here the thorns only hurt his eyes for a while, and Rapunzel's tears soon heal them. We left out Rapunzel's twins in the wilderness and how the witch finds out the secret. The rest of the plot and the ending are the same.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by our narrator and the Chinese by our narrator. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked Rapunzel Story, there are more stories in Grimms' Fairy Tales. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.

More Grimms' Fairy Tales