Rapunzel stood over Flynn's unconscious body. She was still marveling at the power of a frying pan against the first real person she had ever seen besides Mother Gothel. He must be a ruffian, she thought. Mother Gothel had warned her about ruffians.

 

When Rapunzel realized she'd knocked the man out, she began looking at his hands. She poked¹ at him with the pan and then used it to turn him over. She examined his eyes and peeled back his lips to check for fangs².

 

But there were no pointy teeth. This ruffian actually looked rather nice.

 

She turned to Pascal. Now what should she do with the ruffian? But Pascal just shrugged³, not knowing what color to turn.

 

Rapunzel started to shiver all over. She had just overpowered an evil man — someone who must have come in search of her golden hair.

 

The man groaned⁴, and Rapunzel leaped back. She had to do something with him before he awoke, maybe lock him up in a place from which he could never escape! She took his arms and dragged him across the room. He was heavier than Mother Gothel! Spotting the closet, she knew she had found the right place to put him. He would never be able to escape the closet! Bending and twisting his body, she pushed him inside, then slammed the doors. She wedged a chair in front of the doors to keep them closed.

 

"Okay, okay," she said to herself, "I've got a person in my closet." Wait. That meant — "I've got a person in my closet!" Rapunzel was beside herself. She had conquered an evil, terrible monster and locked him away! "I've got a person in my closet!" she repeated frantically⁵.

 

Her worry suddenly turned to excitement. "I've got a person in my closet!" she exclaimed happily to Pascal. This was proof that she could handle anything. She was ready! Mother Gothel would see that she could handle a person and go outside! She could go to see the lanterns!

 

Rapunzel noticed a satchel⁶ on the floor. The jeweled crown was sticking out. Rapunzel had no idea what it was. To her, it looked like a giant ring. She pulled it out and inspected it. She put it on her wrist. Pascal took one look and shook his head. This thing was much too big to be a bracelet⁷.

 

Rapunzel was puzzled. The thing was shiny, but it was not a ring or a bracelet. Maybe it was a necklace! But as she lifted it to put it around her neck, she felt it nestle neatly⁸ atop her hair. It was a hat!

 

Rapunzel went to the mirror to see what the thing looked like on her head.

 

But ... there was something odd about the thing. It fit snugly⁹ and felt like something that belonged on her head. Her eyes sparkled. The reflection in the mirror triggered a funny feeling deep inside. Who was that person looking at her from the mirror? Who was she?

 

Suddenly a voice came from outside the tower. "Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"

 

It was Mother Gothel. "Uh, one moment, Mother!" Rapunzel called back. Quickly she tossed the crown and the satchel into a pot.

 

"I have a surprise!" Mother Gothel shouted cheerfully.

 

"I do, too!" Rapunzel answered as she let down her hair.

 

"Oh, I bet my surprise is bigger!"

 

As Rapunzel started pulling her mother up the side of the tower, she glanced at the closet and whispered to herself, "I seriously doubt it."

 

"I brought back parsnips!" Mother Gothel announced as soon as she reached the windowsill. "And I'm going to make hazelnut soup for dinner. Your favorite! Surprise!"

 

But Rapunzel was not all that surprised or excited about the parsnips and the hazelnut soup. No, Rapunzel was bursting at the seams to talk to Mother Gothel about her quest to see the floating lanterns. She had found the perfect solution: a ruffian who could serve as a guide!

 

乐佩站在失去知觉的费林旁边。这是除高瑟妈妈之外，她见到的第一个真人，她仍然在为平底锅的力量而感到惊讶。他肯定是个恶棍，她想。高瑟妈妈曾经警告过她要小心恶棍。

 

乐佩意识到她把这名男子打晕了，她开始打量他的双手。她先是用锅捅了捅他，然后用锅把他翻了过来。她仔细查看他的眼睛，掀开他的嘴唇看有没有尖牙。

 

但是没有尖牙。实际上，恶棍看起来还挺好的。

 

她转向帕斯考。现在她该拿这个恶棍怎么办呢？帕斯考只是耸了耸肩，不知该变成什么颜色。

 

乐佩开始浑身打战。她刚刚制服了一个邪恶的人——一个肯定是前来寻找她的金发的人。

 

那名男子呻吟了一声，乐佩向后一跳。她得赶在他醒来之前对付他，要不把他锁在一个逃脱不了的地方！她抓住他的手臂，把他拖过房间。他比高瑟妈妈重多了！她看到了衣柜，找到了合适的地方藏他。他永远也不会从壁橱里逃走！她把他的身体弯折起来，推进门里，砰地关上门。她拖了把椅子抵住门，好让门关得紧紧的。

 

“好了，好了，”她自言自语道，“有个人在我的衣柜里。”等一下。那也就是说——“有个人在我的衣柜里！”乐佩无比兴奋。她战胜了一个邪恶、可怕的怪物，还把他锁了起来！“有个人在我的衣柜里！”她欣喜若狂地重复道。

 

她的担心突然之间变成了兴奋。“有个人在我的衣柜里！”她高兴地对帕斯考宣布。这是她能应付一切的证据。她准备好了！高瑟妈妈会看到她能对付得了一个人，可以出去了！她可以去看那些天灯了！

 

乐佩注意到地板上有个包。装饰有珠宝的皇冠露了出来。乐佩不知道那是什么。对她而言，它看起来像一枚巨大的戒指。她把它拿出来，仔细查看。她把它戴在了自己的手腕上。帕斯考看了一眼，摇了摇头。这个东西太大了，不是手镯。

 

乐佩困惑不解。这个东西亮闪闪的，但不是戒指，也不是手镯。可能是项圈！但是当她举起它想套进脖子的时候，她感觉到它恰好放在自己的头顶上。它是顶帽子！

 

乐佩走到镜子前面，看看这个东西戴在她头上怎么样。

 

但是……这个东西有点奇怪。它紧密贴合，似乎就是专门为她的头而定做的。她的眼睛闪闪发光。镜子里的模样唤醒了她内心深处某种奇怪的感觉。镜子里看着她的那个人是谁？她是谁？

 

塔外突然传来声音。“乐佩！放下你的头发！”

 

是高瑟妈妈。“哦，等一下，妈妈！”乐佩回答道。她迅速把皇冠和包都扔进了一个罐子里。

 

“我有个惊喜哦！”高瑟妈妈兴高采烈地叫。

 

“我也有！”乐佩边放下头发边回应。

 

“哦，我肯定我的惊喜更大！”

 

乐佩开始把她的母亲拉上高塔，她瞥了眼衣柜，低声自语：“我非常怀疑。”

 

“我带回了防风草！”高瑟妈妈一到窗台便说，“今天晚餐我要做榛子汤。你的最爱！惊喜吧！”

 

但是乐佩对防风草和榛子汤并不感到惊讶，也不觉得兴奋。不，乐佩的内心全是请求高瑟妈妈让她去看飘浮的天灯的念头。她找到了一个最棒的解决办法： 一个可以当向导的恶棍！

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