Snow-white and the seven dwarfs

PART FOUR

Once home the wicked Queen asked the magic mirror, “magic mirror upon the wall, who NOW is the fairest one of all?" at last it answered, “You are the fairest now of all.” Then her evil, envious heart found peace, as much as any evil, envious heart can.

The dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found Snow-white lying on the ground, there came no breath out of her mouth, the poor child was dead, and remained dead. They laid her on a bier, and all seven of them sat around it, and wept for three whole days. Then they would have buried her, but she still looked as if she were alive, with a beautiful blush to her cheeks. So, they said, “We cannot hide her away in the black ground.” And they had made a coffin of clear glass, so as to be looked into from all sides, they laid her in it, and in golden letters, they wrote her name, and that she was a King’s daughter. Then they set the coffin out upon the mountain, and one of them was always there, to guard it.

Now, for a long while Snow-white lay in the coffin and never changed, but looked as if she were asleep, for she was still as white as snow, lips, red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony. It happened, however, that a King’s son rode through the wood and up to the dwarfs’ house, which was near it. He saw the coffin on the mountain, and beautiful Snow-white within. Reading what was written in golden letters upon it, he said to the dwarfs, “Let me have the coffin with Snow-White in it, and I will give you whatever you ask for it.” The dwarfs told him that they could not part with it for all the gold in the world. But he said, “please give it me, for I cannot live without looking upon Snow-white; if you consent you will be given great honours, and I will care for you all, as if you were my brothers.” When he said this the good dwarfs had pity upon him and gave him the coffin, and the King’s son called his servants and bid them carry it away on their shoulders. Now it happened that as they were going along they stumbled over a bush, and with the shaking, a bit of poisoned apple flew out of Snow-White’s throat. Soon her eyes fluttered opened, she threw open the cover of the coffin, and sat up, alive and well. “Where am I?” she cried. The King’s son answered, full of joy, “You are with me,” and, told her all that had happened, he said, “I would rather have you next to me than anything in the world; come with me to my father’s castle and you shall be my bride.” Snow-white thought she might grow to like the handsome young Prince and went with him.

The wedding was held with great pomp and splendour. But Snow-white’s wicked stepmother was also invited to the feast, when she had dressed herself in beautiful clothes she went to her mirror and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is fairest one of all?" The mirror answered, “Oh Queen, although you are of beauty rare, the young bride is a thousand times more fair." The wicked Queen screamed and cursed and beat her fists in frustration and anger on the walls of the palace until they bled. At first she thought she would not go to the wedding; but then she felt she would have no peace until she saw the bride. She went to the wedding and saw, to her horror, that the bride was Snow-white, but she could not move from the place for anger and terror. When Snow-white looked into her eyes, her stepmother could see that Snow-White was by far more beautiful than she ever was or could be, and since this was all the woman cared about in the world, the jealousy burned into her heart, like acid, and she died there, in the feasting hall. None mourned her passing.

THE END