Princess In A Tall Tower With A Very Long Braid Coloring Page

A round stone tower rises from a bare hilltop and fills almost the whole sheet. The top is ringed with battlements, four spiked merlons and a slim central spire capped with a star. Two narrow arched windows are set into the shaft, a band of stonework wraps around partway down, and long vertical lines run the height of the wall to suggest blocks. Down the left side hangs an enormous plaited braid, finishing in a loose tassel just above the ground.

Here is the thing to know before you print it: the princess herself is nowhere on the page. You get the tower and the braid and nothing else, which is either a disappointment or the best part, depending on the child. The window at the top is empty and waiting for a face.

The braid is drawn as a long run of interlocking loops, which makes it the most satisfying thing here to fill in carefully. Alternate two shades down its length and the plait reads properly.

The Grimms published Rapunzel in 1812, borrowing from an older Italian story called Petrosinella. In both versions the girl is named after the salad leaf her mother stole from a garden.