Knjigice
Fairy tale · Classic fairy tales
Snow White
The old tale of the seven dwarfs
Also in: Sneguljčica (Slovenian) · Snehulienka (Slovak)
Once upon a time a little daughter was born to a queen — with skin as white as snow, cheeks as red as an apple, and hair as black as ebony. They called her Snow White.
1
But at the castle there also lived a proud queen who owned a magic mirror. Every day she asked it: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" And every day the mirror said: "You, my queen."
2
But Snow White grew, and grew lovelier every day. And one day the mirror said: "My queen, you are fair — but Snow White is a thousand times fairer." The queen turned quite green with envy.
3
"Take her far away into the forest!" she ordered the huntsman. But the huntsman had a good heart. "Run, Snow White," he whispered, "and don't go home." Snow White ran off among the trees, and the forest animals showed her the way.
4
Deep in the forest she found a little house. Inside stood a little table with seven little plates, and along the wall seven little beds. Snow White tasted a bite from every plate — and then, ever so sleepy, curled up right across three of the little beds.
5
In the evening the owners of the house came home — seven dwarfs. "Who has been sitting on my little chair? Who has been eating from my little plate?" they wondered. Then they saw Snow White asleep, and stood quite still.
6
Snow White told them her story, and the dwarfs said: "Stay with us!" So she stayed, and the little house had never been so merry. "But take care," they warned her, "open the door to no one!"
7
But the mirror told the queen that Snow White was alive and living with the dwarfs beyond the seven mountains. The queen dressed up as an old apple-seller, took a basket of the finest apples, and set off into the forest.
8
"Apples, sweet apples!" she called outside the little house. Snow White poked her head out of the window. "Just try one," said the apple-seller. Snow White took a bite — and in that very moment she fell asleep.
9
When the dwarfs came home, they could not wake Snow White. They made her a little bed of glass and flowers in the clearing and watched over her, day after day. Even the forest animals came and stood quietly beside her.
10
A prince came riding by. When he saw the sleeping Snow White, he stopped quite still. "Let me just greet her," he asked the dwarfs, took her hand, and kissed her gently on the forehead. And look — the bite of apple slipped right out.
11
Snow White opened her eyes and smiled. The dwarfs threw their caps in the air for joy and danced around the clearing until the whole forest shook with laughter.
12
The proud queen asked her mirror one last time. "Snow White is the fairest," it said. The queen was so cross that she packed up her mirror and moved far, far away. And nobody missed her — or her mirror — one little bit.
13
Soon there was a wedding. Snow White and the prince danced on the clearing in front of the little house, while the seven dwarfs played their flutes and drums. And they all lived happily ever after.
14The End
