Little Snow-white

Once upon a time, in the middle of winter, when snowflakes fell like feathers from the sky, a queen sat sewing at a window with a frame made of black ebony. As she sewed and looked out at the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell onto the snow. The red looked beautiful on the white snow, and she thought to herself, "Oh, how I wish I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of this window frame."

Soon after, she had a little daughter. The child was as white as snow, as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony. So they called her Little Snow-white. But when the baby was born, the queen died.

A year later, the king married another woman. She was beautiful, but proud and vain. She could not stand anyone else being more beautiful than her. She had a magic mirror, and when she stood in front of it and said,

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?" the mirror answered,

"You, O Queen, are the fairest of all."

Then she was happy, because she knew the mirror always told the truth.

But Snow-white grew up, and when she was seven years old, she was as beautiful as the day, even more beautiful than the queen herself. Once when the queen asked her mirror,

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?" it answered,

"You are fair, my queen, it's true, But Snow-white is fairer than you."

The queen was shocked. She turned yellow and green with jealousy. From that moment, whenever she saw Snow-white, her heart pounded with hatred.

Her envy grew like a weed, and she had no peace. She called a huntsman and said, "Take the child into the forest. I never want to see her again. Kill her, and bring me her heart as proof." The huntsman obeyed. He took Snow-white deep into the forest. When he drew his knife to stab her innocent heart, she began to cry and said, "Dear huntsman, please let me live! I will run away into the wild forest and never come back."

She was so beautiful that the huntsman felt sorry for her. "Run away, poor child," he said. "The wild animals will eat you anyway," he thought, but he was relieved that he didn't have to kill her. Just then a young boar came running by. He stabbed it, cut out its heart, and took it to the queen. The cook salted it, and the wicked queen ate it, thinking it was Snow-white's heart.

Now the poor child was all alone in the great forest. She was so scared that she looked at every leaf on every tree and didn't know what to do. She started to run, over sharp stones and through thorns. Wild animals ran past her, but they didn't hurt her.

She ran as long as she could until it was almost evening. Then she saw a little cottage and went inside to rest. Everything in the cottage was tiny, but neat and clean. There was a table with a white cloth, seven little plates, each with a little spoon, seven little knives and forks, and seven little mugs. Against the wall stood seven little beds, covered with snow-white blankets.

Little Snow-white was hungry and thirsty, so she ate a little bit of vegetables and bread from each plate and drank a drop of wine from each mug, because she didn't want to take everything from just one. Then, because she was so tired, she lay down on one of the beds. None of them felt right—one was too long, another too short—until she tried the seventh, which was just right. She said a prayer and fell asleep.

When it was dark, the owners of the cottage came back. They were seven dwarfs who dug for gold and silver in the mountains. They lit their seven candles and saw that someone had been there, because things were not in the same order as before.

The first said, "Who has been sitting on my chair?"

The second said, "Who has been eating from my plate?"

The third said, "Who has been taking my bread?"

The fourth said, "Who has been eating my vegetables?"

The fifth said, "Who has been using my fork?"

The sixth said, "Who has been cutting with my knife?"

The seventh said, "Who has been drinking from my mug?"

Then the first dwarf looked around and saw a little dent on his bed. "Who has been in my bed?" he said. The others came and saw that someone had been in their beds too. But when the seventh dwarf looked at his bed, he saw little Snow-white lying there fast asleep.

He called the others, who came running, and they cried out in amazement. They brought their seven candles and let the light shine on her. "Oh my!" they cried. "What a beautiful child!" They were so happy that they didn't wake her up, but let her sleep.

The seventh dwarf slept with each of his companions for one hour, and so got through the night.

In the morning, Snow-white woke up and was frightened when she saw the seven dwarfs. But they were friendly and asked her name. "My name is Snow-white," she said. "How did you get to our house?" they asked.

She told them how her stepmother had wanted her killed, but the huntsman had spared her, and how she had run all day until she found their home. The dwarfs said, "If you will take care of our house, cook, make the beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything neat and clean, you can stay with us, and you will have everything you need." "Yes," said Snow-white, "with all my heart." And she stayed with them.

She kept the house in order. In the mornings, the dwarfs went to the mountains to dig for gold and silver, and in the evenings they came back and expected supper ready. The girl was alone all day, so the good dwarfs warned her: "Beware of your stepmother.

She will soon know you are here. Don't let anyone in."

Meanwhile, the queen thought she had eaten Snow-white's heart, so she believed she was the most beautiful again. She went to her mirror and said,

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?"

And the mirror answered,

"O Queen, you are the fairest I see, But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, Snow-white is still alive and well, And none is so fair as she."

She was stunned, because she knew the mirror never lied. She realized the huntsman had tricked her, and Snow-white was still alive. She thought and thought about how to kill her. She had no peace as long as she wasn't the most beautiful. Finally, she came up with a plan.

She painted her face and dressed up as an old peddler woman, so no one would recognize her. She crossed the seven mountains to the dwarfs' cottage and knocked on the door, calling, "Pretty things for sale, very cheap!" Little Snow-white looked out the window and said, "Good day, good woman.

What do you have to sell?" "Good things, pretty things," she answered. "Stay-laces of all colors." And she pulled out a lace woven of bright silk. "I can let the old woman in," Snow-white thought. She unbolted the door and bought the pretty lace.

"Child," said the old woman, "what a mess you look! Let me lace you up properly." Snow-white had no suspicion. She stood in front of her and let herself be laced with the new laces.

But the old woman laced so quickly and so tightly that Snow-white lost her breath and fell down as if dead. "Now I am the most beautiful," the queen said to herself, and she ran away.

That evening, the seven dwarfs came home. They were horrified to see their dear Snow-white lying on the ground, not moving, as if dead. They lifted her up and saw she was laced too tightly. They cut the laces. Then she began to breathe a little, and after a while she came back to life. When the dwarfs heard what had happened, they said, "That old peddler woman was the wicked queen. Be careful and don't let anyone in when we are not with you."

The wicked woman went home and stood in front of the mirror and asked,

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?"

And it answered the same as before:

"O Queen, you are the fairest I see, But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, Snow-white is still alive and well, And none is so fair as she."

When she heard that, her blood rushed to her heart with fear. She saw that Snow-white was alive again. "But now," she said, "I will think of something that will finish you." With witchcraft, she made a poisonous comb.

Then she disguised herself as another old woman and crossed the seven mountains to the dwarfs' cottage. She knocked on the door and called, "Good things for sale, cheap!" Little Snow-white looked out and said, "Go away!

I cannot let anyone in." "You can look, at least," said the old woman, and she pulled out the poisonous comb and held it up. The girl liked it so much that she let herself be tricked and opened the door.

After they made a bargain, the old woman said, "Now I will comb your hair properly." Poor Snow-white had no suspicion and let her do it. But as soon as she put the comb in her hair, the poison took effect, and the girl fell down senseless.

"You perfect beauty," the wicked woman said, "you are done for now!" And she left.

Luckily, it was almost evening when the dwarfs came home. They saw Snow-white lying as if dead on the ground. They suspected the stepmother and found the poisonous comb. As soon as they took it out, Snow-white came to herself and told them what had happened. They warned her again to be careful and not open the door to anyone.

The queen went home, stood before the mirror, and said,

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?"

And it answered the same:

"O Queen, you are the fairest I see, But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, Snow-white is still alive and well, And none is so fair as she."

When she heard this, she trembled with rage. "Snow-white shall die," she cried, "even if it costs me my life!"

She went into a secret room where no one ever came, and there she made a very poisonous apple. It looked beautiful, white with red cheeks, so that anyone who saw it would want it. But whoever took a bite would surely die.

When the apple was ready, she painted her face and dressed up as a peasant woman. She crossed the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs and knocked on the door. Snow-white put her head out the window and said, "I cannot let anyone in.

The seven dwarfs have forbidden me." "That's fine," said the woman. "I will get rid of my apples soon enough. Here, I will give you one." "No," said Snow-white, "I cannot take anything." "Are you afraid of poison?" said the old woman. "Look, I will cut the apple in two.

You eat the red part, and I will eat the white." The apple was made so cunningly that only the red half was poisoned. Snow-white longed for the beautiful apple. When she saw the woman eat part of it, she could resist no longer. She reached out and took the poisonous half.

But as soon as she had a bite in her mouth, she fell down dead. The queen looked at her with a dreadful laugh and said, "White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony! This time the dwarfs cannot wake you up."

When she got home, she asked the mirror,

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?"

At last it answered,

"O Queen, in this land you are the fairest of all."

Then her envious heart had rest, as much as an envious heart can have.

When the dwarfs came home in the evening, they found Snow-white lying on the ground. She was not breathing and was dead. They lifted her up, looked for something poisonous, unlaced her, combed her hair, washed her with water and wine, but it was no use. The poor child was dead. They laid her on a bier and sat around her for three days, weeping.

Then they were going to bury her, but she still looked like she was alive, with her pretty red cheeks. They said, "We cannot bury her in the dark ground." So they made a coffin of clear glass, so she could be seen from all sides. They laid her inside and wrote her name in gold letters, saying she was a king's daughter. Then they put the coffin on the mountain, and one dwarf always stayed to guard it. Birds also came and wept for Snow-white: first an owl, then a raven, and finally a dove.

Snow-white lay in the coffin for a long, long time. She did not change, but looked as if she were asleep. She was still as white as snow, as red as blood, and her hair as black as ebony.

Then one day, a king's son came into the forest and went to the dwarfs' house to spend the night. He saw the coffin on the mountain and the beautiful Snow-white inside. He read what was written in gold letters. He said to the dwarfs, "Let me have the coffin.

I will give you whatever you want for it." But the dwarfs answered, "We will not give it up for all the gold in the world." Then he said, "Give it to me as a gift, for I cannot live without seeing Snow-white.

I will honor and treasure her as my dearest possession." The good dwarfs felt sorry for him and gave him the coffin.

The king's son had his servants carry it on their shoulders. As they walked, they stumbled over a tree stump. The shock made the poisonous piece of apple that Snow-white had bitten come out of her throat. Soon she opened her eyes, lifted the lid of the coffin, sat up, and was alive again. "Oh, heavens, where am I?" she cried. The king's son, full of joy, said, "You are with me." He told her what had happened and said, "I love you more than anything in the world. Come with me to my father's palace and be my wife."

Snow-white agreed and went with him. Their wedding was held with great splendor. But the wicked stepmother was also invited. She put on beautiful clothes and went before her mirror and said,

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?"

The mirror answered,

"O Queen, you are the fairest here, I know, But the young queen is fairer still, and so."

Then the wicked woman cursed. She was so miserable that she didn't know what to do. At first she didn't want to go to the wedding, but she couldn't stay away. She had to see the young queen. When she walked in, she recognized Snow-white. She stood still with rage and fear. But iron slippers had already been put on the fire. They were brought in with tongs and set before her. She was forced to put on the red-hot shoes and dance until she fell down dead.