"This is incredible!" Rapunzel said as she and Flynn walked deeper into the forest. But then she remembered how her mother would feel if she knew she'd disobeyed her. Rapunzel shook her head. "Mother would be so furious." She looked at Flynn and said, "But it's okay. I mean, what she doesn't know won't kill her, right?" Flynn just shrugged¹ and nodded.

 

Rapunzel knelt down to look at some leaves and mud on the forest floor. Everything was new and beautiful to her. She'd never seen anything like it.

 

"This is so fun!" she said to Flynn.

 

Rapunzel climbed a tree, and ran through a field of flowers. Then she saw a hill. A big, grassy² hill. It looked ... fun! She threw herself on her back and rolled down the hill, filled with delight. She wrapped her hair around a branch and swung through the air, hollering, "Best! Day! Ever!"

 

Finally, remembering Mother Gothel again, she slumped³ against a boulder⁴ and sobbed⁵.

 

Flynn sat down next to her. "You know," he said gently, "I can't help but notice ... you seem a little at war with yourself here."

 

"What?" Rapunzel asked feebly.

 

Flynn moved closer, trying to seem gentle. He had an idea. He would play on Rapunzel's guilt⁶ to force her to take him back to the tower, where he could retrieve⁷ his satchel⁸ and go on with his life!

 

"I'm just picking up bits and pieces," he said to her softly, in a sugary-sweet voice. "Overprotective mother. Forbidden road trip. I mean, this is serious stuff. But let me ease your conscience: this is part of growing up. A little rebellion, a little adventure, that's good! Healthy, even!"

 

"You think?" Rapunzel perked⁹ up a little.

 

"I know!" Flynn said confidently. "You're way overthinking this. Trust me. Does your mother deserve it? No. Would this break her heart and crush her soul? Of course. But you've just got to do it!"

 

"She would be heartbroken," Rapunzel concluded.

 

Flynn tried to look as distressed¹⁰ as Rapunzel. He had her wrapped around his little finger! He said as gently as he could, helping¹¹ her to her feet, "Oh, bother. All right, I can't believe I'm saying this, but — I'm letting you out of the deal."

 

"What?" Rapunzel said. She knew she probably should go back to Mother Gothel, but she liked it outside. Nobody had hurt her. Maybe Mother Gothel had just been wrong about some things.

 

Flynn started to lead her back toward the tower. "Don't thank me," he was saying. "Let's just get you home. I get back my satchel, you get back a mother-daughter relationship based on mutual¹² trust, and voilà! — we part ways as unlikely friends."

 

Rapunzel pulled herself together. She wasn't ready to go back to the tower. "No. No," she said firmly. "I'm seeing those lanterns."

 

"Oh, c'mon!" Flynn whined¹³. "What is it going to take for me to get my satchel back?"

 

Just then, something rustled¹⁴ through the bushes. "What is it?" Rapunzel asked, terrified. "Is it ruffians? Thugs? Have they come for me?" She leaped behind Flynn for protection.

 

A fuzzy rabbit jumped out of the bushes. Rapunzel blushed. Okay, now, that was a little embarrassing. She wondered if Flynn noticed that she had overreacted a bit.

 

"Probably be best if we avoid ruffians and thugs?" Flynn asked.

 

Rapunzel agreed, "That'd probably be best."

 

Flynn suddenly had an idea. "Are you hungry?" he said with a devious¹⁵ smile, still determined¹⁶ to scare her back to the tower — and his precious satchel with the crown. "I know a great place for lunch."

 

"Where?" Rapunzel asked.

 

"Oh, don't worry," Flynn told her, grinning. "You'll know it when you smell it."

 

“这真是太棒啦！”乐佩和费林朝着森林深处走去时说道。但是，就在那时，她想起要是她的母亲知道她不听话会有什么样的感觉。乐佩摇摇头。“妈妈会气疯的，”她看着费林说，“但是没关系。我的意思是，她不知道就没事了，对吧？”费林只是耸耸肩，点了下头。

 

乐佩跪下来看着林地上的叶片和泥土。对她而言，一切都是全新的，都是美好的。她从没见过这样的东西。

 

“太好玩了！”她对费林说。

 

乐佩先爬上一棵树，又跑过一片花丛。然后，她见到了一座山丘。一座绿油油的大山丘。看起来……很有趣！她躺到地上，兴高采烈地从山坡上翻滚下去。她把头发缠在树枝上，在空中荡秋千，高声叫着：“有史以来！最棒的！一天！”

 

最后，她又想起了高瑟妈妈，于是靠着一块大石头抽泣起来。

 

费林坐到她身边。“你知道吗，”他温柔地说，“我不由得注意到……你好像在和你自己打架。”

 

“什么？”乐佩无力地问。

 

费林挪近了点，想看起来温柔一点。他有了个主意。他可以利用乐佩的愧疚逼她把自己带回塔里，然后他就可以取回背包，继续他的生活了！

 

“我只是从各种细节中看出的。”他轻轻地对她说，声音柔和悦耳，“保护过度的母亲，禁止出远门。我的意思是，这是严肃的事。我来让你轻松些： 这是成长的一部分。一点点叛逆，一点点冒险，挺好的！甚至很健康！”

 

“你这么觉得？”乐佩稍微振作了一点。

 

“当然！”费林自信地说。“你想太多了。相信我。你母亲该容忍你出走吗？不该。这会让她伤心欲绝吗？当然会。但是你必须这么做！”

 

“她会心碎的。”乐佩总结道。

 

费林尽量让自己看起来像乐佩一样苦恼。他把她的头发缠到自己的小指上！他扶乐佩站起来，尽量温柔地说：“哦，真讨厌。好吧，真不敢相信我会这么说，不过——交易取消吧。”

 

“什么？”乐佩说。她知道自己或许应该回到高瑟妈妈那儿，但她喜欢外面。还没有人伤害过她。说不定，高瑟妈妈在有些事上是错的。

 

费林开始引着她朝着高塔的方向往回走。“不用谢我。”他说，“送你回家吧。我拿回我的包，你重新拾回相互信任的母女关系。好啦！——我们就像陌生人一样分道扬镳。”

 

乐佩振作起来。她还没有打算回到塔里。“不，不，”她坚定地说，“我要去看那些天灯。”

 

“哦，拜托！”费林懊恼道，“我到底要怎样才能拿回我的包？”

 

就在那时，有什么东西沙沙地穿过灌木丛。“那是什么？”乐佩惊恐地问，“是流氓？恶棍？是来抓我的吗？”她一步窜到费林身后寻求保护。

 

一只毛茸茸的小兔子跳出了灌木丛。乐佩的脸一下子红了。好了，这下有点难为情了。她不知道费林有没有注意到她的反应有点过激了。

 

“我们最好还是避开恶棍和流氓？”费林问。

 

乐佩表示同意：“那样最好。”

 

费林突然有了个主意。“你饿了吗？”他狡猾地笑着说，还是决定把她吓回塔里——拿回他的宝贝包和皇冠，“我知道一个吃午饭的好地方。”

 

“哪儿？”乐佩问。

 

“哦，别担心，”费林咧嘴笑着对她说，“你闻到就知道了。”

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