Opening the tower’s shutters, Rapunzel leaned out over the windowsill, breathing in the fresh morning air. It seemed to smell better out there than inside the tower, and the air always felt cooler and fresher at the window. From a potted strawberry plant next to her, a tiny green chameleon named Pascal came out to greet her. Pascal was Rapunzel’s only friend, and he looked up at her happily, blinking his big eyes. He could turn almost any color. Now, sensing her mood, he turned a bright yellow.
Pascal knew, as always, exactly what was best for Rapunzel. She wanted to go outside! Pascal skittered over the windowsill and gestured for her to come out of the tower with him. But Rapunzel shook her head. She couldn’t go out.
She needed Mother Gothel’s permission. Pascal slumped a bit.
“Oh, come on, Pascal,” she said cheerfully to the little chameleon as she motioned to him to come back inside the tower. “It’s not that bad.”
She used her golden hair to pull a lever. Thick wooden shutters that covered the windows over her head at the tower’s peak burst open. The tower was flooded with sunlight, glittering specks of dust filling the air. Their day was about to begin — the day she would ask Mother Gothel to take her to see the sparkling lights!
The tower made a small living space — it was tall but narrow. On the main level, there was a small kitchen, along with a living room that had a giant fireplace. The window through which Mother Gothel entered and exited the tower was off to one side. Mother Gothel slept in a bedroom on this cozy level of the tower.
Up a set of winding wooden stairs was a small loft where Rapunzel slept. Here she also had a box of paints, a guitar, and a little bed for Pascal.
Rapunzel kept herself busy every day. But today Pascal felt her excitement as she rushed through her chores, cleaning, sweeping, dusting the furniture, waxing the floors made of thick golden wood and shining stone, and washing her single, pale purple dress. Then she sat down to play her guitar. She was self-taught, of course, but the melodies that floated from the strings were beautiful.
She had a few puzzles that she put together and took apart regularly. When she started feeling a bit pent up, she often turned to her darts. She had quite good aim and placed her targets in every nook and cranny to challenge herself with increasing levels of difficulty. Someday she might just create a dart that could fly across the valley and hit one of the far walls of the cliffs. But that day was a long way off. In the meantime, Rapunzel also loved to read! She had exactly three books, all completely memorized — one on culinary arts, which helped her with her cooking, one about geology; and the third about botany. Her favorite was the botany book. It had the best colors and explained about things that grew outside!
Pascal tried to be patient as Rapunzel did the same things over and over again, but sometimes he couldn’t help rolling his eyes. It was boring! — especially when she had to brush her hair for hours on end.
This morning, when she was finally done with all her chores, her guitar, her puzzles and books, her hair ... Rapunzel smiled at Pascal. As usual, she had saved the best for last: painting! It was her passion. The tower’s walls were covered with her art. Tossing a length of golden hair over one of the rafters, she hoisted herself up toward her favorite mural.
But today, as she pulled back the red curtain that covered the painting, she looked at it differently. The image was a replica of the view from her window — a night scene showing the glowing lights rising into the sky.
Pulling out her paints, she spotted a small blank space that she wanted to fill. When she finished, she had added a small picture of herself ready to enter the forest beyond the tunnel — to see the world outside her little valley.
Suddenly, Rapunzel heard her mother’s voice. “Rapunzel!” Mother Gothel called from outside the tower. “Rapunzel! Let down your hair!”
Rapunzel gasped. The moment had finally arrived! She took a deep breath and turned to Pascal, who gave her a brave little smile.
樂佩打開高塔的百葉窗,將身體探出窗臺,呼吸著早晨的新鮮空氣。外面的空氣似乎比塔內(nèi)的空氣好聞,窗邊的空氣總是更加清涼,更加新鮮。一只名叫帕斯考的綠色小變色龍從她身邊的盆栽草莓中鉆出來,向她問好。帕斯考是樂佩唯一的朋友,他高興地抬頭看著她,眨著大眼睛。他可以變成幾乎任何顏色?,F(xiàn)在,他感覺到她的心情,變成了明亮的黃色。
像往常一樣,帕斯考知道,什么對樂佩最好。她想出去!帕斯考掠過窗臺,示意她和他一起走出高塔。但樂佩搖了搖頭。她不能出去。
她需要高瑟媽媽的許可。帕斯考有點消沉。
“哦,振作些,帕斯考,”她一邊示意小變色龍回到塔內(nèi),一邊歡快地說道,“也沒那么壞。”
她用金色的頭發(fā)拉動了一個控制桿。她頭頂上方覆蓋著塔頂窗戶的厚木板百葉窗突然打開了。陽光灑滿了高塔,空氣中彌漫的塵埃反射著光。他們的一天即將開始——在這一天,她會請求高瑟媽媽帶她去看閃爍的天燈!
這座塔成了一個小小的生活空間——它很高,但是很狹窄。在主層上,有一個小廚房,一個有巨大壁爐的客廳。在一旁,高瑟媽媽進出高塔的窗口關(guān)閉著。高瑟媽媽在高塔里舒服的這一層的一間臥室里睡覺。
沿著一段旋轉(zhuǎn)木樓梯而上,有一間小閣樓——這是樂佩睡覺的地方。在這里,她還有一盒顏料、一把吉他和一張給帕斯考的小床。
樂佩讓自己的每一天都很忙碌。但是今天,當(dāng)她匆匆做完雜事,掃地清理,撣去家具上的灰塵,為厚實的金色木材和閃亮的石頭制成的地板打蠟,洗滌她僅有的那件淡紫色連衣裙的時候,帕斯考覺察出她的興奮之情。然后,她坐下來彈吉他。她的吉他彈奏當(dāng)然是自學(xué)的,但從琴弦飄出的旋律 很美。
她有好幾塊經(jīng)常拼拆的拼圖。當(dāng)她開始覺得有點壓抑的時候,她經(jīng)常會轉(zhuǎn)而玩飛鏢。她瞄得很準(zhǔn),把目標(biāo)設(shè)在每一個角落和縫隙,增加難度來挑戰(zhàn)自己。也許有一天,她會創(chuàng)造出一支能飛越山谷,擊中遠(yuǎn)處懸崖壁的飛鏢。但那一天還離得很遠(yuǎn)。同時,她還喜歡閱讀!她整整背下了三本書——一本是對她的烹飪有幫助的關(guān)于烹飪藝術(shù)的書,一本是關(guān)于地質(zhì)學(xué)的書;第三本是關(guān)于植物學(xué)的。她最喜歡的是這本有關(guān)植物學(xué)的書。它有最好看的顏色,解釋外面世界生長的事物!
當(dāng)樂佩重復(fù)做相同的事情的時候,帕斯考試圖保持耐心。但是,有時候他忍不住轉(zhuǎn)動眼睛。很無聊!特別是當(dāng)樂佩一連幾個小時都在梳頭的時候。
這天早上,當(dāng)樂佩終于完成了所有的雜務(wù),彈完吉他,完成拼圖和閱讀,梳好頭發(fā)的時候……她沖著帕斯考微笑。像往常一樣,她把最好的留到最后: 繪畫!這是她的激情所在。高塔的墻壁上都是她的藝術(shù)作品。她將一段金色長發(fā)投擲向一根椽木,向喜歡的壁畫飛蕩過去。
但今天,當(dāng)她揭開那幅畫上蓋著的紅色簾子的時候,她用不同的方式看著它。這幅畫復(fù)制了窗外的景色——發(fā)光的天燈升向天空的夜景。
她拿出顏料,找到了她想填補的一處小空白。完成之后,她還加上了一幅小圖——準(zhǔn)備通過隧道進入森林,去看看小山谷外面的世界。
突然,樂佩聽到了母親的聲音?!皹放澹 ?高瑟媽媽從高塔外喊道。“樂佩!把你的頭發(fā)放下來!”
樂佩充滿了渴望。這一刻終于到來了!她深吸了一口氣,轉(zhuǎn)向帕斯考。帕斯考給了她一個勇敢的微笑。
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