Before long, Rapunzel and Flynn reached the kingdom's gates. Pascal rode atop Maximus's head, grasping his ears and using them as reins¹. The little chameleon² 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 determined³ 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 tickling⁴ her memory.

 

Maximus went into action, hoisting⁵ 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 bustle⁶ of life and laughter. It was absolutely enchanting⁷.

 

She could smell cakes and breads baking. Up ahead, she saw beautiful fabrics⁸ 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 spotted⁹ 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. Giggling¹⁰, 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 velvety¹¹ that she couldn't help twirling happily around. Flynn took one look and his heart almost stopped. Rapunzel was stunning¹².

 

They bought a dozen pastries¹³, 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, gathering¹⁴ 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 spoke¹⁵, a mosaic¹⁶ depicting¹⁷ 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 mesmerized¹⁸ 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.

 

不一会儿，乐佩和费林抵达了王国的城门。帕斯考骑在捍马的头顶，紧紧抓住他的耳朵，把它们当成了缰绳。小变色龙也觉得今天是他人生中最重要的一天！他们逐渐走近一座桥和一队宫廷卫兵。费林担心他会被认出来，遭到逮捕。但是捍马决心处理好一切。

 

捍马希望乐佩能见识到他的聪慧，他瞅见前面有一个小男孩抱着许多小国旗。乐佩盯着那些旗帜。紫色的背景，中央有一个金色的太阳，她觉得有点熟悉。但是她不知道究竟是什么在触碰她的记忆。

 

捍马采取行动，把那个男孩举到费林的怀中。许许多多的旗帜遮住了费林的脸，他们很轻易就从卫兵身旁通过。捍马自豪地瞥了乐佩一眼。

 

“早上好！”乐佩愉快地问候卫兵们。

 

然后，突然之间，乐佩就置身于村庄了。她无法抑制自己的兴奋之情。街上人潮涌动，大家聊天、买东西、晒衣服、忙碌着各自的家务和差事。她目之所及的每个地方都洋溢着生命的活力和欢笑。让人着迷极了。

 

她能闻到烤蛋糕和面包的香味。头顶上方，她见到集市的摊位上悬挂着漂亮的布匹和篮子。

 

乐佩快步向前跑。她想要好好看看这一切！

 

“哇！”她大喊一声，差点摔个狗啃泥。费林和捍马立刻赶到她的身边。人们踩在她的头发上！拖着七十英尺的头发穿过人群可是新的体验——而且也是个问题。

 

乐佩发现附近有个解决办法。一群女孩子正在相互梳辫子。她们一见到乐佩便睁大了眼睛。她们冲过来抚摸她令人叹为观止的头发。接着，她们开始编啊编啊。

 

当她们终于骄傲地编完的时候，乐佩的头发漂漂亮亮地绑在她的脑后，辫梢刚好够及她的脚踝。

 

“谢谢你们！”乐佩对女孩们说，然后跟着费林和捍马继续往前走。女孩们咯咯笑着，也看着费林的头发。她们偷偷地在他的头发上绑了一个漂亮的蝴蝶结。

 

乐佩跑进一家服装店，试穿了一条米色礼服。衣服摸上去那么柔软，像天鹅绒一般，她不禁快乐地转着圈。费林看了一眼，他的心跳几乎停止。乐佩美极了。

 

他们买了一打裹了粉色糖霜的糕点。乐佩从来没有吃过这么美味的东西！蜜糖在她的舌头上融化，她把它们统统吃光了！可怜的费林几乎一口都没有尝到，但他很喜欢看乐佩。

 

他们走进一家书店。乐佩这辈子只见过三本书——三本高瑟妈妈允许带进高塔的书。乐佩看着书店的架子上搁着数以百计的书，急不可耐地想要把它们都看完。她不敢相信自己学到了那么多，经历了那么多！费林从头到尾都在她身边，把书从架子上拿下来，一本本整理好放在地板上，在她想把书一股脑儿全部看完的时候坐在她旁边。

 

突然，城镇公告员在村庄中央的舞台上叫喊：“是时候了，善良的人们！聚集起来！是的，来吧，聚集起来！今天我们要跳舞来纪念失踪的公主。这是希望的舞蹈，舞伴们一起开始跳，然后分开，然后又回到彼此身边。就像终有一天，我们的公主会回到我们身边一样。”

 

这个人说话的时候，一幅描绘国王和皇后的马赛克画引起了乐佩的注意。她忍不住凝视画中皇家夫妇怀抱着他们的孩子——这张画就画于公主被偷走之前。不知道为什么，乐佩被皇后碧绿的眼睛和失踪公主带着皇冠的样子给迷住了。皇后看起来和乐佩长得几乎一模一样。

 

突然，城镇公告员说道：“开始跳舞吧！”费林和乐佩被卷入翩翩起舞的人群中，大家伙儿纷纷围着村庄广场绕圈。

 

费林踩着音乐及时推了乐佩一把，她旋转起来。他们分开了，各自和其他舞伴跳着。然后他们又聚到了一起——他们的目光紧锁在一起。就在乐佩以为不可能更美妙的时候，城镇公告员喊道：“到船上去！”

 

奇妙的一天过去了，现在夜幕降临。是时候放天灯了。

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