Rapunzel spun in a circle, her arms billowing out joyously. "It's the most beautiful room!" she cried.
Eugene eyed her oddly. "It's just a bookstore," he said with a somewhat indulgent smile.
"But I've never seen so many in one place before!" she insisted. She turned abruptly to peruse the nearest bookshelf, shoving her face against the spines.
"You like books that much, huh?" he said, folding his arms across his chest smugly. It had been his idea to come here, after all, though he hadn't anticipated quite so strong a response.
"They're my favorites!" she breathed, her glassy eyes showing him she was in a state of euphoria. She turned to face him. "Where are the baskets?" she asked earnestly.
He was caught off-guard. "The — baskets?" he repeated, puzzled.
"Like in the markets!" she exclaimed, as if annoyed at his lack of understanding. "To put all my books in."
"Uh, you don't usually need a basket," Eugene hedged. "Most people don't buy that many books..."
Rapunzel's eyes grew wide in puzzlement. "Why not?" she asked in a quiet, almost reverent tone. "How could you come in here and not buy basket-fuls?" He shrugged; he didn't know the answer, and if he was being honest, he didn't care about it. Books had never held as much fascination for him as they apparently did for her.
"Help me carry them!" she said, recovering her excitement as she began pulling volumes from the shelf, her hands shaking with pleasure. She was the oddest person he'd ever met, he realized. But then, that was why she was special.
This was inspired by a picture I saw on Tumblr of a woman carrying a stack of books who I thought looked a lot like Rapunzel and made me decide that bookworm Rapunzel needed to happen. (I also borrowed and modified the idea of shopping carts in bookstores.) We know from the movie that she loves to read, but since she only has the few that Gothel has given her, I thought she'd be elated to see a bookstore for the first time.
Here's the picture that inspired it, if you're interested: vivaforever597 dot tumblr dot com /post/42303500372