Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Three drops of red blood fell onto the white snow beside a window frame of glossy black ebony, on a cold winter afternoon. A queen sat sewing at that window. She was watching the snowflakes drift past, and her needle slipped and pricked her finger. She looked down at the three drops of blood lying on the snow beside the ebony frame. Then she made a quiet wish. If only she had a daughter with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as that ebony wood. Two German scholars, the Brothers Grimm, once collected hundreds of old tales. In this story they kept every detail whole: the three drops of blood, the white snow, the ebony window frame. That is why the story can still be told today, detail by detail.

Before long, the queen's wish came true. She gave birth to a daughter just as she had wished, with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony. She named the child Snow White. But only a short while after the birth, the queen died. A year later, the king married a new wife. She was dazzlingly beautiful but full of pride, and she could not bear to think that anyone in the world was more beautiful than she was. She had a strange magic mirror hanging in her private chamber. Every morning she stood before it and asked who was the most beautiful woman in all the world. From the clear glass, a voice answered with the truth, never a lie. Year after year, there was only ever one answer.

The years went by, and Snow White grew more beautiful with every year. When she was seven years old, the queen stood before the mirror one morning as usual and asked her familiar question. But this time the mirror gave a very different answer. The queen was beautiful indeed, it said, but Snow White was a thousandfold more beautiful than the queen. Hearing this, the queen felt as if a fire were burning in her heart. From that day on, whenever she looked at Snow White, she no longer saw an innocent child. She saw only a thorn in her side, growing bigger day by day.

Her jealousy grew so great that the queen summoned a huntsman from the court. She ordered him to take Snow White deep into the forest, kill her, and bring back proof that she was dead. The huntsman led Snow White into the forest, his hand gripping his knife. But when he saw the innocent, frightened face of the little girl begging for her life, his heart softened. He could not bring himself to do it. He told Snow White to run far away into the deep forest and never come back. Then he killed a young wild boar and brought part of the animal back to the queen. The queen believed him. She was certain that Snow White was truly dead.

Snow White ran on and on through the deep forest. Thick trees closed in on every side, and her bare feet trod on sharp stones and thorns, but she did not dare to stop. Darkness slowly fell, and still she ran, head down, until she came upon a pretty little house in a clearing. She knocked, and no one answered, so she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Everything in the house was small, but neat and clean. On a table stood exactly seven little plates and seven little cups. In the corner were seven little beds in a row. Hungry and worn out, Snow White tasted a little food from each plate and took a sip of water from each cup. She did not want to eat anyone's whole share. Then she tried the beds one by one. One was too long, another too short. At last the seventh bed fit her just right, and she fell asleep at once.

The house was the home of seven dwarfs, who went into the mountains every day to dig for ore. That evening the seven dwarfs came home. When they lit their lamps, they saw that someone had eaten from their plates and slept in their beds. At the seventh bed, all seven dwarfs crowded around and held their lamps high to look at the sleeping girl. Every one of them marveled at her lovely face. Then they let her sleep through the night. The next morning, Snow White told them the whole story, about the queen and about the kind huntsman. The dwarfs felt sorry for her and offered to let her stay. In return, she would do the cooking, the washing and the cleaning. Every morning before they left for the mountains, the dwarfs warned her again and again. She must never open the door to anyone, because sooner or later the queen would learn that she was still alive.

Sure enough, the magic mirror spoke again. Snow White was still alive, it said. She was living with the seven dwarfs beyond the mountain, and she was still a thousandfold more beautiful than the queen. The queen realized that the huntsman had tricked her, and she flew into a rage. She disguised herself as an old peddler woman and made her way to the little house in the forest.

The first time, the old woman pretended to sell bodice laces in every color. Snow White thought the old woman looked kind. Without any suspicion, she invited her in and bought a pretty lace. The old woman offered to tie it for her so it would fit well. Then she pulled the lace tighter and tighter, so tight that Snow White could not breathe, and she fell to the floor unconscious. Seeing this, the old woman slipped quietly away, full of glee. That evening the seven dwarfs came home and found her lying still. They quickly found the lace tied too tight and cut it at once. Little by little, Snow White began to breathe again. The dwarfs knew right away that the old woman had been the queen in disguise. They told Snow White to be even more careful.

Once again the magic mirror revealed that Snow White was still alive. The second time, the queen made a poisoned comb. She put on a different disguise and went back to the little house. Snow White remembered the warning and firmly refused to open the door. But when she saw the beautiful comb held up at the window, she could not resist. She opened the door and let the old woman comb her hair. The moment the comb touched her hair, the poison took effect, and Snow White collapsed on the floor. That evening the seven dwarfs came home and again found her lying motionless. They found the poisoned comb still in her hair and pulled it out, and Snow White came to once more. This time the dwarfs warned her more sternly. She must never again open the door to anyone, however kind that person might seem.

Back at the palace, the queen asked the magic mirror once more. The mirror answered that Snow White was still alive, still a thousandfold more beautiful than she was. The queen shook with rage. The third time, she made an apple with her own hands. One half was bright red and the other half pure white, but the poison was only in the red half. She disguised herself as a simple farm woman and brought the apple to the door. By this third time, Snow White had grown much more careful, and she would not accept anything at all. So the woman cut the apple in two and ate the whole white half herself, right in front of her, as if to prove the apple was perfectly safe. Snow White looked at the juicy red apple. She saw that the woman had eaten the other half and come to no harm. She could resist no longer. She reached out, took the red half, and bit into it. At once she fell to the floor, motionless, and did not wake.

That evening the seven dwarfs came home and found Snow White lying on the floor. They searched her all over. They loosened her laces, combed her hair, and even splashed water on her face, but this time nothing could wake her. All seven dwarfs sat around her and wept for three whole days. When the time came to bury her, they looked at her face. It was still rosy and fresh, as if she were fast asleep rather than gone. They could not bear to lay her in the cold ground. Instead, they made her a coffin of clear glass and engraved on it, in golden letters, her name and her royal birth. The coffin was set on a high mountaintop, and every day one of the dwarfs stayed beside it to keep watch. Even the birds and beasts of the forest came quietly and stood around the coffin, as if mourning for her.

The years went by, and Snow White lay quietly in the glass coffin. Her face did not change at all. One day a prince passed through the forest. He happened to see the coffin on the mountaintop and read the golden letters engraved on it. He stood still, gazing at Snow White's face. Then he asked the seven dwarfs to let him have the coffin, and he promised to cherish her all his life. At first the dwarfs refused. However much treasure he offered, they would not trade. But the prince pleaded with them. He said that he could not live without seeing her every day. The dwarfs were moved to pity, and they agreed to give him the coffin.

The prince had his servants lift the coffin onto their shoulders, and they set off for his palace. Along the way, one of the bearers tripped on a tree root, and the coffin gave a hard jolt. At that very moment, the piece of poisoned apple caught in Snow White's throat flew out. She slowly opened her eyes. Then she pushed open the lid of the coffin herself and sat up, alive again, as if nothing had ever happened. The prince was overjoyed. He told her everything that had happened and asked her to marry him on the spot. Snow White said yes, and a grand wedding was prepared at the castle of the prince's father, the king.

The queen was invited to the wedding too. She had no idea that Snow White was still alive. Before setting out, she stood before the magic mirror as usual and asked who was the most beautiful woman in all the world. This time the mirror answered that the young queen about to be married was the most beautiful, a thousandfold more beautiful than she was. The queen stood frozen. At once she realized that it was Snow White, the girl she had believed was gone from this world. The old terror and jealousy came flooding back and took hold of her mind completely. That very night, the queen slipped silently out of the palace without a word of farewell. From then on, no one ever saw her again.

As for Snow White, she now lived in another castle, far from the forest of long ago. On her wedding day, snow was falling outside the window too, as white as on that winter afternoon so long before. The three colors, white as snow, red as blood, black as ebony, were no longer a wish whispered at a lonely window. Now Snow White herself stood right there, alive and smiling, in the arms of the people who loved her most.