Beyond the Tower
Once upon a time, there lived an elderly woman named Rapunzel.
Now this woman was no ordinary woman. She actually had quite an adventurous life and had lived in a tower at one point. She was kidnapped as an infant. She never wanted anyone to know, but now she was on her way to telling an infamous, yet riveting story...
Rapunzel was about to tell her grandchildren her life story.
Her nerves almost got the best of her. She paced up and down the hallway, her grandchildren sitting in the guest bed playing with their new toys they had just received from her on the visit. Rapunzel had never told her own children of the life she used to live, but she knew she must tell someone so the story never was truly lost. Even if they did not know the story was about her, she must say it. She must.
Rapunzel walks in their room with a soft smile and a tender face. She is at peace knowing these young ones will carry on the name well and grow up to retell a story so precious to her.
"Okay, little ones. Time to go to bed, but first, a bedtime story. Who would like to hear?" Rapunzel asked.
"Oh me! Oh me!" says little Ruth.
"Me too! Me too!" says little Forrest.
"I declare this story to be told. Let's begin." said Rapunzel.
The children nestled into their covers. Rapunzel breathed in and out. This was it. The story was being told.
The Story
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a princess. When she was young, she was stolen from her parents and taken to a tower by an evil woman who just wanted to be young again. You see, this princess had special hair that magically healed any thing that needed healing. Did I mention it was long? It reached from the top of the tower to the bottom. The princess was kind. She was servant-minded. She was a daughter worthy of praise, except she never received praise.
One day on her sixteenth birthday, she sent the evil woman to the market to get her some paints. Before the evil woman leaves, she warns the princess to never go with a group of horses that run through the pasture below them. These horses were known as "the Maximus".
"The Maximus you should not make peace with. I thought they were dead, but indeed they are living." said the evil woman.
"Okay. I will not speak with them." said the princess, who had every intention of being kind to all that passed by the tower.
Lo and behold, the Maximus came by soon after the evil woman left. Rapunzel watched them run down the mountain and into the pasture below her. She knew they did not get along with the evil woman who kept her in the tower and she had to make peace with them.
"Hello friends! Would you like to come in for some tea?" She called out to them.
The horses looked at each other and smiled. It had been a long time since someone had actually cared enough to invite them in.
The leader of the pack called back to her, "Of course! We would be honored to sit in your presence, miss."
The princess lifted each horse up, one by one, into the tower. As they sat and had tea, they discussed the hardships they had all been through. The princess had an idea. Why not give them some land in the pasture to graze for a few days? They needed a place to stay. She asked them and they agreed to take a portion of the land below her. When the evil woman returned, they would work it out through a game of dice.
The evil woman returned and she wanted justice. These horses stole her land.
"Not so fast," said the princess. "You owe me for all the time I have spent here. I demand a game of dice to decide who keeps the land."
The evil woman, being an expert dice player, agreed with a sly grin.
The game began. The evil woman played with such ease, the Maximus struggling to keep up. The first round was lost. The evil woman demanded the Maximus give her the golden necklace the leader was wearing. The Maximus, unable to speak out of sadness of losing the game, handed the necklace over. The evil woman gives the Maximus three wishes. They wished for the land. They wished for the rest of their group to be reunited. The last wish, they had nothing to share.
The evil woman suggests they meet at the stream close to the tower. They met there and began the second game of dice. Eventually, the evil woman won and made an agreement to allow the Maximus to dwell over in the woods with the frogs and locusts, who were friendly creatures.
Eventually, the princess escaped and went to visit the Maximus. After a few years, she permanently lived with them. She was able to teach them how to use her hair to heal any wounds or illness they may have.
The End.
Rapunzel watched her grandchildren's sleepy eyes. As they closed, she knew it had been said. The story that clung to her soul for so long was out. It was now up to them to pass it on.
Bibliography:
"Indian Epics: Reading Notes, Week 06", Marla Duvall,
Reading Notes,
Author's Note: I took the story of "Narayan's Mahabharata", specifically parts A and B, and told the story from Rapunzel's point of view. Rapunzel represents the king of Hastinapura and part of the character of Arjuna. The evil woman represents Duryodhana. I wanted the story to have a lighter feel to it, so I included Disney characters from the movie "Tangled". The plot is similar to that of the Mahabharata because there is a game of dice and some tension between two parties. I wanted this story to really portray friendship and love because I felt as if the king tried to befriend the Pandavas. In this story, I made Rapunzel a good friend to the Maximus. This light-hearted, heart-warming story similar to parts A and B of the Mahabharata will hold to be a good bedtime story to anyone who listens.
