Rapunzel
http://www.teenink.com/fiction/sci_fi_fantasy/article/156303/Once-Upon-a-Parody-Rapunzel/
Modern Version
Grimm Version
The two versions have multiple small differences in them, although the main story remains the same. There are many grammatical differences, such as great and mighty being used as adjectives to describe the witches terrible power. Although this is a much more modern and sort of funny version of the classical fairy tale. In the “revised” version, the prince sees a lady at the top of a skyscraper and orders an elevator built since he does not want to climb one thousand steps to kiss his princess.
The elevator is finished, and when he goes up to the princess she had starved to death. However, he is not despairing as he sees a prettier and sexier princess in another skyscraper in the next tower. The writing style is very female from the perspective of the one reading it, and when you examine the author, “Aurluanna”, you see she is indeed female. However, in the original version, the writing style is not very biased, and the story is dramatically different. There is only ONE princess and tall object, and they are in a tall tower that a prince climbs using Rapunzel’s golden locks, only to find it’s the witch at the top. Instead of moving onto another skyscraper, the prince tumbles and loses his eyes when they are impaled by thorns. He wanders into a desert where he finds the princess, is cured of his ailment, and they live happily ever after. That last part is present in both stories, you could say, although the princess is dead in the modern version.
Overall, these versions are very different and from completely different time periods, which explains possibly why they are the way they are.
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Rapunzel held her two children in her lap. An old, oak box lay between them, nestled in her dress.
“Alright children, let me show you the memories that are held within this box of times long past, when your father and I first met.”
The princess glanced over to the prince, who was poring over some old books near a crackling fireplace. He looked up and smiled slightly back at her before going back to his business.
The princess situated her children comfortably, opened the wooden thing and reached inside, her hand dancing with the shadows of the flames in the fireplace.
A piece of silk.
Ah, this old thing. Thought Rapunzel.
“This wonderful piece of silk was given to me by your father! He was just as much a gentleman then as he is now.”
The daughter asked, “What for, mother?”
“For escaping, of course!” Rapunzel made a spooky-looking face for effect, laughing shortly after. “Your father loved me very much, and I returned that feeling. We had to be together, and for that I needed to escape! But a piece of silk, while very nice to touch, can only tell us so much about my exciting earlier life!” Rapunzel put the old slightly frayed piece back into the box. The shadows dancing on her hand highlighted her hand, and gave her a moment to reflect on her life and what would happen in the upcoming years.
A piece of hair.
“Oh, oh! I know this one!” Cried the son, “It’s your hair, right mother?”
Rapunzel nodded. “This is the hair that was taken from me by the mean enchantress, who wanted to keep me apart from your father. It wasn’t easy in that cursed tower, I can tell you that right now!” The prince chuckled, as we all know what he had to go through shortly after the precious princesses hair was stolen.
“The awful woman used this to trick your father into believing she was infact, me! He took a nasty tumble after that.” She put the hair back into the box. She chuckled inside her mind, thinking about how if anyone else had her hair they’d probably be executed or imprisoned for being such a weird individual.
A broken thorny branch.
“Oh my, this nasty thing.” Rapunzel remarked. A splotch of blood was barely visible on the branch, and she hoped the children wouldn’t notice.
“Is this the thorn that scratched up father?” Asked the daughter.
“Yes, the witch caused my husband such a shock that he had a tumble onto a thorny bramble. She would be brought to justice for this, but not for a while.” She remembered how the prince, eyes missing, face scarred, had wandered by chance (or fate?) into her new domain. She remembered how her tears falling onto his face had brought back what he had lost. She felt those same tears coming to her eyes again. She quickly put the branch back.
“That’s all for now, my children.” Rapunzel cooed.
“Can we please stay up for another story? Please?” Cried the son, but Rapunzel was comfortable enough to put them to bed now. She walked away from the room with her children in her arms, letting the box slide to the ground. The prince noticed two orbish things fall from the box, which had unlocked and opened on the fall. Two dried, fleshy things with dark dots in the middle. He scoffed, got up and put them and the box away. “Good night to that woman” He thought, remembering as he calmly marched up to the then-old enchantress and decapitated her with the sword he had trained with since he was a child. It sat besides him like a safety blanket. He had forgiven the spiteful woman, but his pride as the future ruler locked him into those actions. The fact that she took his eyes DID help him carry out the deed.
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