These Are the Most Popular Fairytales Ever

RAPUNZEL

If you’ve ever checked out hairstyles in the doll section of a toy store, you won’t be surprised to find that Rapunzel is still such a beloved and influential story. More recently Mattel released a popular 2002 CGI computer-animated film, Barbie As Rapunzel, and Disney had a hit with the 2010 feature-length cartoon, Tangled.

The girl with the climb-able curls is isolated in a tower by a wicked witch. Of course this being a fairy tale, it’s only a matter of time before a handsome prince shouts, ‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair,’ and before you know it, they’re united in perfect bliss. Surprise!

The Grimm version of Rapunzel is so very much grimmer. Rapunzel winds up in the witch’s clutches in the first place because her pregnant mother couldn’t stop stealing magic herbs from the old crone’s garden. (And you thought cravings for pickles and ice cream were bad!) The witch finds out about Rapunzel’s secret visitor when the girl’s unexpected pregnancy bursts the seams of her dresses.

Using Rapunzel’s hair as a lure, the witch catches the prince and throws him to the ground, where thorns pierce his eyes. She leaves him to wander alone for years in the wilderness. (Jealous much?) But it is a fairy tale, so eventually Rapunzel, now the mother of the prince’s toddler twins, runs into him by chance; her tears fall onto his face, miraculously restoring his vision, and leading the couple to their belated happily ever after.