Like most folk tales, the story of Rapunzel is not realistically localized. Since it originated as a German folk tale, and the herb rampion was used in salads mainly in Europe, the forest setting is probably an idealized or abstract version of Germany. The people telling the story would have heard of deserts of the Near and Middle East and North Africa, but one should probably interpret the desert as a generic isolated space. The prince would have been from one of the many small kingdoms that comprised Germany before its unification.

The plot begins with a couple living in the woods next to an enchantress. The man steals some rampion (a leafy plant) from the enchantress's garden, and when he is caught, he agrees to give the enchantress the baby about to be born to them. The enchantress takes and raises the baby girl, Rapunzel. When Rapunzel reaches puberty, the enchantress imprisons her in a tower with no stairs or doors, which can only be accessed by Rapunzel's letting her hair down through a window. Eventually the prince discovers Rapunzel, gets her pregnant, and arranges to take her back to his kingdom. Before he can do so, the enchantress spirits Rapunzel off to a desert and lures the prince into the tower. The prince jumps out of the tower and survives but is blinded by thorns. He wanders for several years but eventually locates Rapunzel, marries her, and they return to his kingdom.