A hundred years before Rapunzel, there was Persinette. Before the Old Witch ever locked Rapunzel in a tower, a Fairy set out to change Persinette's destiny.

Read the French fairy tale that inspired the Grimm Brothers' "Rapunzel," learn about the authoress Mlle de La Force, and discover answers to questions such as why Persinette's father traded her for a fistful of parsley and how she survived for years alone in her wilderness.

Includes translations of the French tale "Persinette" (1698), the Italian tale "Petrosinella" (1634), and the German tale "Rapunzel" (1812-57), along with background information on each of the tales and their authors.