Snow
White
Once upon a time the flakes of snow
were falling like feathers from the clouds. A queen sat at her castle window,
which had an ebony black frame, stitching her husband’s shirts. While she looked
away to see the snow she pricked her finger, and 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 afterwards 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 bear
anyone to be better-looking than she was. She owned 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, for she knew
that the mirror always spoke truly.
Little Snow-White, however, 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.”
This answer so angered the queen
that she became yellow with envy. From then on, she hated the little girl. Her
envy and jealousy grew so that she had no rest day or night. Finally she said
to a huntsman, “Take the child away into the forest. I will never look upon her
again. You must kill her, and bring me her heart and tongue as proof that 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 wild forest, and never come home again.”
This speech softened the hunter’s
heart, and he had pity on her and 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 at that moment a wild pig came roaring along to the spot. As soon as he saw
it the huntsman caught it. He killed it and took its tongue and heart and
carried them to the queen.
But now poor little Snow-White was
left motherless and alone, lost in the woods. She ran till her feet would not
go farther. Since it was getting dark, and she saw a little house near, she
entered 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
covered with snow-white sheets.
Little Snow-White, being both hungry
and thirsty, 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 wish to eat all of anyone’s food.
After that she laid herself 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 became quite 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, and saw at once—for they lit
up the whole room—that somebody had been in, for 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,
“what a beauty she is!” And they were so happy that they would not awaken her,
but left her to sleep. The seventh dwarf, in whose bed she was, slept with each
of his fellows one hour, and so passed the night.
As soon as morning dawned Snow-White
awoke. She was quite frightened when she saw the seven little men, but they
were very friendly, and asked her what she was called.
“My name is Snow-White,” she said.
“Why have you come into our house?”
they asked.
Then she told them how her
stepmother would have had her killed, but the huntsman had let her go, and how
she had wandered about the whole day until at last she had found their house.
When her tale was done the dwarfs
said, “Will you look after our house—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 above all 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. In this
disguise 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
many-colored silks.
“I may let in this honest woman,”
thought Snow-White, and she unbolted the door and asked for one pair of ties.
“You can’t think, my dear, how they
become you!” exclaimed the old woman. “Come, let me lace them up for you.”
Snow-White trusted her, and let her
do as she wished. But the old woman laced her up so quickly and so tightly that
all her breath went. She fell down like she was dead. “Now,” thought the old
woman to herself, hurrying away, “now am I once more the most beautiful of all!”
In the evening, not long after she
had left, the seven dwarfs came home. They were much frightened at seeing their
dear little girl lying on the ground, not moving or breathing, as if she were
dead. They raised her up, and when they saw that she was laced too tight they
cut the ties to pieces. Soon she began to breathe again, and little by little
she woke up. When the dwarfs now heard what had taken place, they said, “The
old peddler woman was no other than your wicked stepmother. Take more care of
yourself, and let no one enter when we are not with you.”
Meanwhile, the queen had reached
home, and, going before her mirror, she repeated her usual words:
“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 so angry to hear that Snow-White was still alive.
“Now,” thought she to herself, “I will make something which shall really destroy
her.” Thus saying, 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, drawing out her poisoned comb and holding it up. The sight of this
pleased the girl so much that she opened the door. As soon as 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 senseless.
“You pattern of beauty,” cried the
wicked Queen, “it is now 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 suspected the queen. Seeing the poisoned comb, they quickly drew
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, and 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 enter, and made an apple of the
most deep 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, and clothed herself 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. “There, 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 placed a piece in her mouth when she fell down dead upon
the ground. Then the queen looked at her with glittering eyes and laughed
bitterly. She said, “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,
as peacefully as 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 placed themselves around it, and 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, and 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
peacefully in her case. She didn’t change, but looked as if she were only
asleep. She was still white as snow, red as blood, and black-haired as ebony. One
day a king’s son was traveling in the forest, and 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. With the shock the piece of poisoned
apple which lay in Snow-White’s mouth fell 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 the
castle of the king his father. Snow-White agreed. When they got there they were
married with great splendor.
Snow-White’s stepmother was also
invited to the wedding. When she was dressed in all her finery to go, she first
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, and she didn’t know what to do with herself. She didn’t want to go to the
wedding, but she felt she had to see the princess. So she went, but 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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