The Brothers Grimm by Jacob Grimm

Author:Jacob Grimm [Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781607108306
Publisher: Thunder Bay Press

53. LITTLE SNOW WHITE

Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the flakes of snow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen sat at a window sewing, and the frame of the window was made of black ebony. And while she was sewing and looking out of the window at the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell upon the snow. And the red looked pretty upon the white snow, and she thought to herself, “If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window frame.”

Soon after that she had a little daughter, who was as white as snow, and as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony; and she was therefore called Little Snow White. And when the child was born, the Queen died.

After a year had passed 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 wonderful looking-glass, and when she stood in front of it and looked at herself in it, and said—

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass,

on the wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

The looking-glass answered—

“You, O Queen, are the fairest of all!”

Then she was satisfied, for she knew that the looking-glass spoke the truth.

But Snow White was growing up, and grew more and more beautiful; and when she was seven years old she was as beautiful as the day, and more beautiful than the Queen herself. And once when the Queen asked her looking-glass—

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,

Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

It answered—

“You are fairer than all who are here, Lady Queen.”

But more beautiful still is Snow White, as I ween.”

Then the Queen was shocked, and turned yellow and green with envy. From that time, whenever she looked at Snow White, her heart heaved in her breast, she hated the girl so much.

And envy and pride grew higher and higher in her heart like a weed, so that she had no peace day or night. She called a hunter, and said, “Take the child away into the forest; I will no longer have her in my sight. Kill her, and bring me back her heart as a token.” The hunter obeyed, and took her away; but when he had drawn his knife, and was about to pierce Snow White’s innocent heart, she began to weep, and said, “Ah dear hunter, spare me my life! I will run away into the wild forest, and never come home again.”

And as she was so beautiful the hunter had pity on her and said, “Run away, then, you poor child.” “The wild beasts will soon devour you,” thought he, and yet it seemed as if a stone had been rolled from his heart since he no longer needed to kill her. And as a young boar

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