Before long, Rapunzel and Flynn reached the kingdom’s gates. Pascal rode atop Maximus’s head, grasping his ears and using them as reins. The little chameleon felt as if it was the biggest day of his life, too! As they approached a bridge and a group of palace guards, Flynn worried that he might be recognized and arrested. But Maximus was determined to take care of everything.
Hoping Rapunzel would notice his cleverness, Maximus spied a boy up ahead holding an armful of small kingdom flags. Rapunzel stared at the flags. There was something familiar about the purple background with the golden sun at its center. But she couldn’t quite figure out what it was that was tickling her memory.
Maximus went into action, hoisting the boy into Flynn’s arms. With a mass of flags shielding Flynn’s face, they easily walked past the guards. Maximus glanced proudly at Rapunzel.
“Good morning!” Rapunzel cheerfully greeted the guards.
And then, all at once, Rapunzel was inside the village. She could hardly contain her excitement. People crowded the streets, talking and shopping, hanging out their laundry and busily doing other chores and errands. Everywhere she looked, she saw the bustle of life and laughter. It was absolutely enchanting.
She could smell cakes and breads baking. Up ahead, she saw beautiful fabrics and baskets hanging in market stalls.
Rapunzel hurried forward. She wanted to absorb it all!
“Whoa!” she cried out, nearly falling flat on the ground. Flynn and Maximus were instantly by her side. People were stepping on her hair! Trying to move through a crowd with seventy feet of hair was definitely a new experience — and also a bit of a problem.
Rapunzel spotted a solution nearby. A group of girls were braiding one another’s hair. As soon as they saw Rapunzel, their eyes grew wide. They rushed to touch her magnificent hair. Then they began to braid ... and braid ... and braid.
When they proudly finished, Rapunzel’s hair was elegantly bundled down her back, the end of the braid well above her ankles.
“Thank you,” Rapunzel told the girls as she moved on with Flynn and Maximus. Giggling, the girls looked at Flynn’s hair, too. They had secretly braided it with pretty bows!
Rapunzel raced into a dress shop and tried on a cream-colored gown. It felt so soft and velvety that she couldn’t help twirling happily around. Flynn took one look and his heart almost stopped. Rapunzel was stunning.
They bought a dozen pastries, covered with pink icing. Rapunzel had never tasted anything so delicious! The sweet sugar melted on her tongue as she ate them all! Poor Flynn hardly got a bite, but he did enjoy watching Rapunzel.
They stopped in a bookstore. Rapunzel had seen only three books in her life — the three books that Mother Gothel had allowed into the tower. Rapunzel looked at the bookstore shelves filled with hundreds of books and eagerly began trying to read them all. She could not believe how much she was learning and experiencing! Flynn was right next to her the whole time, pulling books from the shelves, gathering them on the floor, sitting beside her as she tried to take them all in.
Suddenly the town crier called out from a stage at the center of the village: “It is time, good people! Gather around! Yes, come, gather around! Today we dance to celebrate our lost princess. It is a dance of hope, where partners start together, separate, and return to one another. Just as one day our princess will return to us.”
As the man spoke, a mosaic depicting the King and Queen caught Rapunzel’s eye. She couldn’t help gazing at the picture of the royal couple holding their baby — a portrait from the time just before the Princess was stolen from them. For some reason, Rapunzel felt mesmerized by the emerald-green eyes of the Queen and the little lost princess wearing the crown. The Queen looked almost exactly like Rapunzel.
Suddenly the town crier said, “Let the dance begin!” Flynn and Rapunzel were caught up in the dancing crowd as everyone moved around the village square.
Flynn twirled Rapunzel in time to the music. They separated and danced with other partners. Then they came together again — and their eyes locked. And just when Rapunzel thought it couldn’t be more magical, the town crier shouted, “To the boats!”
The entire, wonderful day had passed, and now night was falling. It was time to release the lanterns.
不一會(huì)兒,樂(lè)佩和費(fèi)林抵達(dá)了王國(guó)的城門。帕斯考騎在捍馬的頭頂,緊緊抓住他的耳朵,把它們當(dāng)成了韁繩。小變色龍也覺(jué)得今天是他人生中最重要的一天!他們逐漸走近一座橋和一隊(duì)宮廷衛(wèi)兵。費(fèi)林擔(dān)心他會(huì)被認(rèn)出來(lái),遭到逮捕。但是捍馬決心處理好一切。
捍馬希望樂(lè)佩能見(jiàn)識(shí)到他的聰慧,他瞅見(jiàn)前面有一個(gè)小男孩抱著許多小國(guó)旗。樂(lè)佩盯著那些旗幟。紫色的背景,中央有一個(gè)金色的太陽(yáng),她覺(jué)得有點(diǎn)熟悉。但是她不知道究竟是什么在觸碰她的記憶。
捍馬采取行動(dòng),把那個(gè)男孩舉到費(fèi)林的懷中。許許多多的旗幟遮住了費(fèi)林的臉,他們很輕易就從衛(wèi)兵身旁通過(guò)。捍馬自豪地瞥了樂(lè)佩一眼。
“早上好!”樂(lè)佩愉快地問(wèn)候衛(wèi)兵們。
然后,突然之間,樂(lè)佩就置身于村莊了。她無(wú)法抑制自己的興奮之情。街上人潮涌動(dòng),大家聊天、買東西、曬衣服、忙碌著各自的家務(wù)和差事。她目之所及的每個(gè)地方都洋溢著生命的活力和歡笑。讓人著迷極了。
她能聞到烤蛋糕和面包的香味。頭頂上方,她見(jiàn)到集市的攤位上懸掛著漂亮的布匹和籃子。
樂(lè)佩快步向前跑。她想要好好看看這一切!
“哇!”她大喊一聲,差點(diǎn)摔個(gè)狗啃泥。費(fèi)林和捍馬立刻趕到她的身邊。人們踩在她的頭發(fā)上!拖著七十英尺的頭發(fā)穿過(guò)人群可是新的體驗(yàn)——而且也是個(gè)問(wèn)題。
樂(lè)佩發(fā)現(xiàn)附近有個(gè)解決辦法。一群女孩子正在相互梳辮子。她們一見(jiàn)到樂(lè)佩便睜大了眼睛。她們沖過(guò)來(lái)?yè)崦钊藝@為觀止的頭發(fā)。接著,她們開(kāi)始編啊編啊。
當(dāng)她們終于驕傲地編完的時(shí)候,樂(lè)佩的頭發(fā)漂漂亮亮地綁在她的腦后,辮梢剛好夠及她的腳踝。
“謝謝你們!”樂(lè)佩對(duì)女孩們說(shuō),然后跟著費(fèi)林和捍馬繼續(xù)往前走。女孩們咯咯笑著,也看著費(fèi)林的頭發(fā)。她們偷偷地在他的頭發(fā)上綁了一個(gè)漂亮的蝴蝶結(jié)。
樂(lè)佩跑進(jìn)一家服裝店,試穿了一條米色禮服。衣服摸上去那么柔軟,像天鵝絨一般,她不禁快樂(lè)地轉(zhuǎn)著圈。費(fèi)林看了一眼,他的心跳幾乎停止。樂(lè)佩美極了。
他們買了一打裹了粉色糖霜的糕點(diǎn)。樂(lè)佩從來(lái)沒(méi)有吃過(guò)這么美味的東西!蜜糖在她的舌頭上融化,她把它們統(tǒng)統(tǒng)吃光了!可憐的費(fèi)林幾乎一口都沒(méi)有嘗到,但他很喜歡看樂(lè)佩。
他們走進(jìn)一家書店。樂(lè)佩這輩子只見(jiàn)過(guò)三本書——三本高瑟媽媽允許帶進(jìn)高塔的書。樂(lè)佩看著書店的架子上擱著數(shù)以百計(jì)的書,急不可耐地想要把它們都看完。她不敢相信自己學(xué)到了那么多,經(jīng)歷了那么多!費(fèi)林從頭到尾都在她身邊,把書從架子上拿下來(lái),一本本整理好放在地板上,在她想把書一股腦兒全部看完的時(shí)候坐在她旁邊。
突然,城鎮(zhèn)公告員在村莊中央的舞臺(tái)上叫喊:“是時(shí)候了,善良的人們!聚集起來(lái)!是的,來(lái)吧,聚集起來(lái)!今天我們要跳舞來(lái)紀(jì)念失蹤的公主。這是希望的舞蹈,舞伴們一起開(kāi)始跳,然后分開(kāi),然后又回到彼此身邊。就像終有一天,我們的公主會(huì)回到我們身邊一樣?!?
這個(gè)人說(shuō)話的時(shí)候,一幅描繪國(guó)王和皇后的馬賽克畫引起了樂(lè)佩的注意。她忍不住凝視畫中皇家夫婦懷抱著他們的孩子——這張畫就畫于公主被偷走之前。不知道為什么,樂(lè)佩被皇后碧綠的眼睛和失蹤公主帶著皇冠的樣子給迷住了?;屎罂雌饋?lái)和樂(lè)佩長(zhǎng)得幾乎一模一樣。
突然,城鎮(zhèn)公告員說(shuō)道:“開(kāi)始跳舞吧!”費(fèi)林和樂(lè)佩被卷入翩翩起舞的人群中,大家伙兒紛紛圍著村莊廣場(chǎng)繞圈。
費(fèi)林踩著音樂(lè)及時(shí)推了樂(lè)佩一把,她旋轉(zhuǎn)起來(lái)。他們分開(kāi)了,各自和其他舞伴跳著。然后他們又聚到了一起——他們的目光緊鎖在一起。就在樂(lè)佩以為不可能更美妙的時(shí)候,城鎮(zhèn)公告員喊道:“到船上去!”
奇妙的一天過(guò)去了,現(xiàn)在夜幕降臨。是時(shí)候放天燈了。
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