A story for Paul

Mark the Storyteller tells a story about a king and queen who have a baby girl named Rapunzel. The fairy king gets upset for not being invited to the party and casts a spell on Rapunzel's hair, making it grow twice as fast every time it's cut. The king and queen try various ways to manage Rapunzel's growing hair but eventually build a tower for her to live in. They offer a reward for anyone who can cure Rapunzel, and the blacksmith's son succeeds by tying Rapunzel's hair to a nail and cutting it. They marry and live happily ever after. Mark shares this story as a reminder of Paul and the practical advice he gave at Beautiful Days. He hopes to see everyone soon. Hello there. It's Mark the Storyteller here. I'm going to tell you a story. This story is very special because it reminds me of Paul. Now when I think of Paul, I think of Paul when he first came into the tent with Liberty and she sat on his knee. And then later with Connie and Indy and they sat on his knee. But then they used to come in on their own and Paul, I would see him, sat at the back half in, half out of the tent with one knee raised, smiling and nodding as I told tales and stories. But the thing I remember about Paul the most is how practical he was and how useful he was. Me being me, I am not the most practical man in the world and Paul, when I went to Beautiful Days for the first time, was there to give me advice and very much appreciated it was. So I thought a story, a story of love, laughter and practical advice and then I remembered the story. This is the story I'm going to tell you. Once upon a time, far away, was a castle, a magnificent castle, surrounded by a city, surrounded by a kingdom. In that castle lived a king and a queen, they were very happy, they loved the kingdom and the kingdom loved them. But one day the king was even happier, the king was even happier because the queen had a baby girl, a princess, oh the king was so happy, look he said, look at my daughter, the princess, look how beautiful she is and he loved his daughter and he loved his wife and he loved his family. He said to the queen, what shall we call her? The queen said, my favourite name has always been Rapunzel. Oh marvellous said the king, that's a great name, he said, what a fantastic name, a beautiful name and it suits her, we'll call her Rapunzel. In fact, this weekend we will have a party to celebrate the birth of Rapunzel and to officially name her. The queen said, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, you know what happens if we have a party to name Rapunzel and we don't invite everybody, something bad might happen. The king said, wah, he said, I'm a practical man. He got out a big roll of parchment and he wrote on it, fairy godmother, fairy godmother, fairy godmother, witch, witch, witch, witch, sorcerer, sorceress, weird spirits, funny old lady who lives in the forest, he said, there you go, he said, I've got everybody. She said, as long as you're sure. They had a party, a marvellous party, people came from all over the kingdom. Partway through the party there was a flash of thunder, there was a sound of lightning or something to that effect, and there standing before them was the fairy king. He said, you forgot me. The king said, no I didn't, he said, look, I've got a list, and he rolled out his piece of parchment and he said, look, fairy godmother, fairy godmother, fairy godmother, witch, witch, witch, witch, sorcerer, sorceress, weird spirits, funny old lady who lives in the forest, oh I did. But of course you're invited, it goes without saying, said the king, but the fairy king would not be appeased. He said, you forgot me, and therefore I am going to cast a spell on Rapunzel. Rapunzel's hair will grow, but if you cut it, it will grow twice as fast, and if you cut it again, it will grow twice as fast again, and if you cut it again, it will grow twice as fast again, and on, and on, and on. And with that, said a manacle laugh, which I won't attempt here, he disappeared in the sound of thunder and a flash of lightning. The king looked at the queen, she looked back at him horrified, but the king looked at her and said, well that could have been worse, couldn't it, it's easy, we just won't cut her hair. So they didn't. Now when she was five, how long do you think Rapunzel's hair was? Have a guess. Really? Well, it went from her head to her toes to the floor, and the king said, she's going to trip over that, cut it. So they did. They cut her hair, and it grew twice as fast. When she was ten, how long was her hair? Have a guess. Really? It went from her head to her toes to the floor to the bedroom door, and the king said, the cats are playing in her hair, that can't be good. Cut her hair, so they did. When she was fifteen, how long do you think her hair was? Have a guess. Really? It went from her head to her toes to the floor to the bedroom door, down the stairs to the front door, and the king said, the servants can't get up the stairs. Cut her hair, so they cut her hair again. When she was eighteen, how long was her hair? You're right. It went from her head to her toes to the floor to the bedroom door, down the stairs to the front door, out the front door, through the courtyard and through the castle gate, and the king said, this is ridiculous. Cut her hair, and they did, but it grew twice as fast. The king said, oh, this is no good, what are we going to do? He said, I know, we'll build a tower, Rapunzel can live on the top floor, and every time we cut her hair and it grows, we'll build another floor and she'll live on the top floor again, and they did, and the tower got taller and taller and taller, it stretched up into the sky. The king looked at the tower and said, oh, can no one cure Rapunzel? He sent out a proclamation, anybody who could cure Rapunzel, he would make them a prince or a princess, and with Rapunzel's permission, they may marry her. People came from all over the kingdom. The first man who turned up, he had a huge, great, rusty implement that threw out steam and smoke, and went tugger-tugger-tugger-tugger-tugger-tugger-tugger-tugger-tugger-tugger-tugger, and looked like a giant pair of scissors. The king said, you're going nowhere near my daughter with that, that looks dangerous. Another person turned up with a great big bucket. They said, in here, I have got an ointment, rub this ointment on Rapunzel's hair and she will be cured. And the king smelt the ointment and said, pooh, really, that stinks, oh, pooh, oh, really, that, that is the smelliest thing in the world. Do you know what the smelliest thing in the world is? Can you guess? Well, I'm sure there are some good guesses flying around now, but if you happen to be a small person, you won't know what the smelliest thing in the world is, because if you look at the big people, I will tell you what the smelliest thing in the world is. The smelliest thing in the world is bin juice, and that's the stuff that drips out the bottom of the bin bag on your feet, especially horrible if you're wearing sandals, and it stinks. And that is the smelliest thing in the world, and they only know that because they take the bins out. And the king said, that is worse than the smelliest, that's worse than bin juice, that is. You're not putting that on Rapunzel's hair. They tried all sorts. One in the town was a blacksmith, and the blacksmith's son, he watched everybody running around, he looked at the tower as it got higher and higher, and he said, you've all been thinking about this the wrong way, I can cure Rapunzel, I would marry her, and everybody ignored him. He went to see the king, the king said, what can you do with magic, you are the blacksmith's son, the blacksmith's son said, it's not magic, he said, you're just thinking about it the wrong way, I'll cure Rapunzel. He went to the tower, and he put ladders up the side of the tower, they went halfway up, he climbed up the ladders, he looked up and he shouted, Rapunzel, Rapunzel, she looked out of the window, and when she saw the blacksmith's son, she smiled, he said, Rapunzel, I can cure you, she said, would you, could you, if you do, I would marry you, the blacksmith's son said, they are all thinking about it the wrong way, if you trust me, I will cure you, she looked down and said, if you can cure me, I trust you. The blacksmith's son went down the ladders, he went to his forge, he made a nail, a nail of solid iron, fully four feet long, he took it back to the tower, climbed up the ladders, and hammered it halfway up the tower, it stuck out by two feet. He looked up and he said, Rapunzel, Rapunzel, I will cure you, trust me. She looked out and she said, I trust you, he said, Rapunzel, Rapunzel, throw down your hair, so she did, and her hair cascaded all the way down the side of the tower. He wrapped it round the nail, and tied it tight, then he went to the bottom of the ladders, he looked up, and through cupped hands, he shouted, Rapunzel, trust me, jump. Rapunzel did, she jumped out of the tower, and she fell all the way down the side of the tower, she went past the nail, and as she went past the nail, her hair, tied to the nail, got tighter and tighter and tighter, and slowed her, until, gently, she fell into the blacksmith's son's arms, and he reached up, and with a pair of scissors, he cut her hair, and she was cured. They went to the king. The king said, how can this be? The blacksmith's son said, you've been thinking about this the wrong way. All of you, you've been trying to cut the hair off the princess. I've cut the princess off the hair, and the blacksmith's son did marry Rapunzel, and together, they had a jolly good life. There you go, that's my story. It reminds me of many a time, telling stories in my tent of beautiful days, with Paul sitting at the back. I am sad not to be with you, but I hope to see you all very, very soon indeed. Until then, bye-bye.