Snow
White
Once upon a time the snow was falling
like feathers from the clouds. A queen sat at her castle window, which had an
ebony black frame. She was sewing. While she looked away to see the snow she
pricked her finger. Three drops of blood fell upon the snow.
Now the red looked so nice on the white
that she thought to herself, “Oh, that I had a child as white as this snow, as
red as this blood, and as black as the wood of this frame!” Soon a little
daughter came to her. She was as white as snow, and had cheeks as red as blood,
and hair as black as ebony. And so her mother named her “Snow-White.” And at
the same time the queen died.
About a year later the king married
another wife. She was very beautiful, but so proud that she could not stand it
if anyone was prettier than she was. She had a wonderful mirror. When she
stepped before it and said:
“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of us all?”
it
said:
“The queen is the fairest of the day.”
Then she was pleased. She knew that the
mirror always told the truth.
But Snow-White grew up, and became
prettier and prettier. When she was seven years old she was as fair as the day,
and more beautiful than the queen herself. When the queen now asked her mirror:
“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of us all?”
it
said:
“The queen was fairest yesterday;
Snow-White is the fairest, now, they
say.”
Then the queen became yellow with envy.
From then on, she hated the little girl. Her envy and jealousy grew so that she
did not sleep. Finally she said to a huntsman, “Take the child away into the
forest. I will never look at her again. You must kill her, and bring me her
heart and tongue to show me you have done it.”
The huntsman listened and took the girl
away. But when he drew out his knife to kill her, she began to cry. She said,
“Don’t kill me! I will run into the forest, and never come home again.”
This speech softened the hunter’s heart,
and he said, “Well, run away then, poor child.” But he thought to himself, “The
wild beasts will soon eat you.” Still he felt as if a stone had been lifted
from his heart, because he had not had to kill her. Just then a wild pig came
along. The huntsman caught and killed it. He took its tongue and heart to the
queen.
But now poor little Snow-White was left
alone, lost in the woods. She ran till her feet would not go farther. It was
getting dark, and she saw a little house near, so she went in to rest. In this
house everything was very small, but very neat. In the middle stood a little
table with a white cloth over it, and seven little plates on it. Each plate had
a spoon and a knife and a fork, and there were also seven little mugs. Against
the wall were seven little beds in a row. Each was covered with snow-white
sheets.
Little Snow-White ate a little bit of
porridge out of each plate, and drank a drop or two of wine out of each mug.
She did not want to eat all of anyone’s food. After that she lay down on one
bed, but it was too soft. She tried another, but that was too long. Another was
too short, and another too hard. But the seventh was just the thing. She tucked
herself up in it and went to sleep, first saying her prayers as usual.
When it was dark the owners of the house
came home. They were seven dwarfs, who dug for gold and silver in the
mountains. They first lit seven little lamps. They saw at once that somebody
had been in. Everything was not the way they had left it.
The first asked, “Who has been sitting
on my chair?”
The second, “Who has been eating off my
plate?”
The third said, “Who has been nibbling
at my bread?”
The fourth, “Who has been at my
porridge?”
The fifth, “Who has been meddling with
my fork?”
The sixth grumbled out, “Who has been
cutting with my knife?”
The seventh said, “Who has been drinking
out of my mug?”
Then the first, looking round, began
again, “Who has been lying on my bed?” he asked, for he saw that the sheets
were messed up. At these words the others came, and looking at their beds cried
out too, “Someone has been lying in our beds!” But the seventh little man,
running up to his, saw Snow-White sleeping in it. So he called the others, who
shouted with wonder and held up their seven lamps, so that the light fell upon
the little girl.
“Oh, heavens! oh, heavens!” they said,
“how beautiful she is!” And they were so happy that they left her to sleep. The
seventh dwarf slept with each of his fellows one hour, and so passed the night.
As soon as morning came Snow-White
awoke. She was frightened when she saw the seven little men, but they were very
friendly. They asked her what she was called.
“My name is Snow-White,” she said.
“Why have you come into our house?” they
asked.
So she told them what had happened.
When her tale was done the dwarfs said,
“Will you look after our house? You can be our cook, make the beds, wash, sew,
and knit for us, and keep everything neat. If so, we will keep you here, and
you will have everything you need.”
And Snow-White answered, “Yes, with all
my heart and will.” And so she stayed with them, and kept their house neat.
In the morning the dwarfs went into the
mountains and searched for silver and gold, and in the evening they came home
and found their meals ready for them. During the day the girl was left alone,
and so the good dwarfs warned her, “Be careful of your stepmother, who will
soon know of your being here. So let nobody enter the house.”
The queen, meanwhile, thought that she
had eaten the heart and tongue of her stepdaughter. And so she believed that
she was now the most beautiful woman in the world. One day she stepped before
her mirror, and said:
“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of us all?”
And it said:
“The queen was fairest yesterday;
Snow-White is fairest now, they say.
The dwarfs protect her from thy sway
Amid the forest, far away.”
This surprised her, but she knew that
the mirror always spoke the truth. Then she knew that the huntsman had tricked
her, and that Snow-White was still alive. So she dyed her face and dressed
herself as a peddler woman, so that no one would know who she was. She went
over the seven hills to the house of the seven dwarfs. She knocked at the door
of the hut, and called out, “Fine goods for sale! Beautiful goods for sale!”
Snow-White peeped out of the window and
said, “Good day, my good woman. What do you have to sell?”
“Fine goods, beautiful goods!” she said.
“Dress-ties of all colors.” And she held up a pair which were made of silk.
“I may let in this good woman,” thought
Snow-White. She unbolted the door and asked for one pair of ties.
“They look beautiful on you!” said the
old woman. “Come, let me lace them up for you.”
Snow-White let her do as she wished. But
the old woman laced her up so quickly and so tightly that she couldn’t breathe.
She fell down like she was dead. “Now am I the most beautiful of all!” thought
the old woman to herself. She hurried away.
In the evening the seven dwarfs came
home. They were frightened at seeing the girl lying on the ground, not moving
or breathing, as if she were dead. They raised her up. When they saw that she
was laced too tight they cut the ties to pieces. Soon she began to breathe
again. Little by little she woke up. When the dwarfs heard what had taken
place, they said, “The old peddler woman was no other than your wicked
stepmother. Take more care of yourself, and don’t let anyone in when we are not
with you.”
Meanwhile, the queen had reached home.
She said to her mirror:
“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of us all?”
And it said as before:
“The queen was fairest yesterday;
Snow-White is fairest now, they say.
The dwarfs protect her from thy sway
Amid the forest, far away.”
As soon as it was done, all her blood
rushed to her heart. She was angry to hear that Snow-White was still alive.
“Now,” thought she to herself, “I will make something which shall really
destroy her.” So she made a poisoned comb, and then disguised herself as old
widow. She went over the seven hills to the house of the seven dwarfs. Knocking
at the door, she called out, “Fine goods to sell today!”
Snow-White peeped out and said, “You
must go farther, for I dare not let you in.”
“But still you may look,” said the old
woman. She took out her poisoned comb and held it up. It was so pretty that
Snow-White opened the door. When she had bought something the old woman said,
“Now let me for once comb your hair well.” Snow-White told her she could. The
comb was barely in her hair when the poison began to work, and the girl fell
down again.
“Ha!” cried the wicked Queen. “It is all
over with you.” And she left.
Luckily, evening soon came. The seven
dwarfs came back, and as soon as they saw Snow-White lying upon the ground,
they knew it was the queen. Seeing the poisoned comb, they quickly took it out.
Then the girl woke up and told them what had happened. So again they warned her
against the wicked stepmother, and told her not to let anyone in.
Meanwhile the queen had again reached
home and had again talked to her mirror, and gotten the same answer as twice
before. This made her tremble and foam with rage and jealousy. She swore that
Snow-White should die if it cost her her own life. Then she went into an inner
secret room where no one could go. She made an apple of the worst poison. It
had had rosy cheeks that would make anyone long for it, but whoever ate the
smallest piece of it would surely die. As soon as the apple was ready the queen
again dyed her face. This time she dressed like a poor woman. Then over the
seven mountains to the house of the seven dwarfs she made her way.
She knocked at the door, and Snow-White
stretched out her head and said, “I cannot let anyone enter. The seven dwarfs
have told me not to.”
“That is hard on me,” said the old
woman, “for I must take back my apples, but there is one which I will give
you.”
“No,” answered Snow-White, “no, I must
not take it.”
“Are you afraid of it?” cried the old
woman. “See—I will cut the apple in half. You eat the red cheeks, and I will
eat the core.” (The apple was made so the red cheeks alone were poisoned.)
Snow-White very much wished for the beautiful apple, and when she saw the woman
eating the core she stretched out her hand, and took the poisoned part. She had
barely put a piece in her mouth when she fell down dead upon the ground. Then
the queen looked at her and laughed. “White as snow, red as blood, black as
ebony! This time the dwarfs cannot wake you back up.”
When she reached home she spoke to her
mirror:
“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of us all?”
It answered:
“The queen is fairest of the day.”
Then her envious heart was at rest, if
an envious heart can rest.
When the little dwarfs came home in the
evening they found Snow-White lying on the ground, and she seemed to be quite
dead. They raised her up, and looked for anything poisonous. They unlaced her,
and even uncombed her hair, and washed her with water and with wine. But
nothing helped. The child was really and truly dead.
Then they laid her on a table. All seven
stood by it. They wept and wept for three days without stopping. Then they got
ready to bury her. But she looked still fresh and life-like. Even her cheeks
were still red. They said to one another, “We cannot bury her in the black
ground.” Then they had a case made of glass. In this they could see the body on
all sides. The dwarfs wrote her name with golden letters upon the glass, saying
that she was a king’s daughter. Now they placed the glass case on a rock, and
one of them always stayed by it to watch. Even the birds cried: first came an
owl, then a raven, and last of all a dove.
For a long time Snow-White lay in her
case. She didn’t change. She looked like she were just asleep. She was still
white as snow, red as blood, and black as ebony. One day a king’s son was in
the forest. He came to the dwarfs’ house to pass the night. He soon saw the
glass case on the rock, and the beautiful girl lying in it. He read also the
golden words.
When he had looked at it, he said to the
dwarfs, “Let me have this case, and I will pay what you like for it.”
But the dwarfs said, “We will not sell
it for all the gold in the world.”
“Then give it to me,” said the prince,
“for I cannot live without Snow-White. I will care for her as long as I live.”
When the dwarfs saw that he was telling
the truth they gave him the case. The prince had it carried away by his
servants. Soon they tripped over a rut. The bump made the piece of apple in
Snow-White’s mouth fall out. Then she opened her eyes, and, raising the lid of
the glass case, she rose up and asked, “Where am I?”
Full of joy, the prince answered, “You
are safe with me.” And he told to her what had happened, and how he would
rather have her than any other for his wife. He asked her to go with him to his
castle. Snow-White agreed. When they got there they were married.
Snow-White’s stepmother was invited to
the wedding. She dressed in all her finery to go. But first she stepped in
front of her mirror and asked:
“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of us all?”
And it said:
“The queen was fairest yesterday;
The prince’s bride is now, they say.”
At these words the queen was in a fury.
She didn’t want to go to the wedding, but she wanted to see the princess. So
she went. As soon as she saw the bride she knew it was Snow-White. She was so
angry that she rushed out of the castle and was never heard of again.
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