Maybe you can do like this:
try {
InputStream input = new FileInputStream("qa-textbox.xls");
POIFSFileSystem fs = new POIFSFileSystem(input);
HSSFWorkbook wb = new HSSFWorkbook(fs);
HSSFSheet sheet = wb.getSheetAt(0);
HSSFPatriarch pat = sheet.getDrawingPatriarch();
List children = pat.getChildren();
Iterator it = children.iterator();
while(it.hasNext()) {
HSSFShape shape = (HSSFShape)it.next();
if (shape instanceof HSSFTextbox){
HSSFTextbox textbox = (HSSFTextbox)shape;
HSSFRichTextString richString = textbox.getString();
String str = richString.getString();
System.out.println("String: " + str);
System.out.println("String length: " + str.length());
}
}
} catch (IOException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}