SNOW-WHITE

SNOW-WHITE

A very long time ago, in mid winter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven,a beautiful queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony.As she worked, she looked sometimes at the falling snow,and it happened that she pricked her finger with her needle, so that three drops of blood fell upon the snow.The Queen said to herself as she looked it, "Ah me!If only I had a dear little child who had skin as white as the snow,lips as rosy as the blood, and hair as black as the ebony window-frame."

Soon afterwards she had a little daughter, with skin white as snow, lips rosy as blood, and hair as black as ebony-and she was therefore called "Little Snow-White."

But alas! When the little one was born, the good queen died.

A year passed away, and the King took another wife.She was a beautiful woman, but proud and haughty, and she could not bear that anyone else should surpass her in beauty.She had a mirror and when she stood in front of it and asked, "Mirror, mirror upon the wall, Who is the fairest of us all?"the mirror answered - "Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all,"and the Queen was contented, because she knew the mirror could speak nothing but the truth.

But as time passed on, Little Snow-White grew more and more beautiful,until when she was seven years old, she was as lovely as the bright day, and still more lovely than the Queen herself,so that when the lady one day asked her mirror - "Mirror, mirror upon the wall, Who is the fairest fair of us all?"it answered- "O Lady Queen, though fair ye be, Snow-White is fairer far to see."

The Queen was shocked, and grew yellow and green with envy,and from that moment envy and pride grew in her heart like rank weeds,so that she had no peace day or night, until one day she called a huntsman and said"Take the child away into the woods and kill her, for I can no longer bear the sight of her.And when you return, bring with you her heart, that I may know you have obeyed my will."

The huntsman dared not disobey, and he led Snow-White out into the woodsand placed an arrow in his bow to pierce her innocent heart,but the little girl cried and begged him saying, "Ah dear huntsman, leave me my life!I will run away into the wild forest, and never come home again."

And as she was so beautiful the huntsman had pity on her and said, "Run away, then, you poor child."While to himself he thought, "The wild beasts will soon have devoured you,"and yet it seemed as if a stone had been rolled from his heart since he no longer had to kill her.

Then as a young wild boar came rushing by, he killed it, took out its heart, and carried it home to the Queen.The cook was ordered to prepare this, and the wicked Queen ate it, and thought she had eaten the heart of Snow-white.

Poor little Snow-White was now all alone in the wild wood,and so frightened was she that she trembled at every leaf that rustled.Then she began to run, and ran over sharp stones and through thorns, and the wild beasts ran past her, but did her no harm.And she kept on running until she came to a little house, where she went in to rest.

Inside the cottage, everything she saw was tiny, but more dainty and clean than words can tell.

Upon a white-covered table stood seven little plates and upon each plate lay a little spoon,besides which there were seven knives and forks and seven little goblets.Against the wall, and side by side, stood seven little beds covered with perfectly white sheets.Snow-White was so hungry and thirsty that she took a little food from each of the seven plates,and drank a few drops of wine from each goblet, for she did not wish to take everything away from one.

Then, because she was so tired, she crept into one of the little beds, but it did not suit her,and then she tried the others, but one was too long, another too short, and so on,until she came to the seventh, which suited her exactly; so she said her prayers and soon fell fast asleep.

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