'Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who is fairest of us all?'
and it answered as usual--
'Queen, thou art fairest here, I hold,
But Snowdrop over the fells,
Who with the seven Dwarfs dwells,
Is fairer still a thousandfold.'
When she heard the Glass speak these words she trembled and quivered
with rage. 'Snowdrop shall die,' she said, 'even if it cost me my own
life.' Thereupon she went into a secret room, which no one ever
entered but herself, and made a poisonous apple. Outwardly it was
beautiful to look upon, with rosy cheeks, and every one who saw it
longed for it, but whoever ate of it was certain to die. When the
apple was ready she dyed her face and dressed herself like an old
Peasant Woman and so crossed the seven hills to the Dwarfs' home.
There she knocked.
Snowdrop put her head out of the window and said, 'I must not let any
one in, the seven Dwarfs have forbidden me.'
'It is all the same to me,' said the Peasant Woman. 'I shall soon get
rid of my apples. There, I will give you one.'
'No; I must not take anything.'
'Are you afraid of poison?' said the woman. 'See, I will cut the apple
in half: you eat the red side and I will keep the other.'
Now the apple was so cunningly painted that the red half alone was
poisoned. Snowdrop longed for the apple, and when she saw the Peasant
Woman eating she could hold out no longer, stretched out her hand and
took the poisoned half. Scarcely had she put a bit into her mouth than
she fell dead to the ground.
The Queen looked with a fiendish glance, and laughed aloud and said,
'White as snow, red as blood, and black as ebony, this time the
Dwarfs cannot wake you up again.' And when she got home and asked the
Looking-glass--
'Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who is fairest of us all?'
it answered at last--
'Queen, thou'rt fairest of them all.'
Then her jealous heart was at rest, as much at rest as a jealous heart
can be. The Dwarfs, when they came at evening, found Snowdrop lying on
the ground and not a breath escaped her lips, and she was quite dead.
They lifted her up and looked to see whether any poison was to be
found, unlaced her dress, combed her hair, washed her with wine and
water, but it was no use; their dear child was dead. They laid her on
a bier, and all seven sat down and bewailed her and lamented over her
for three whole days. Then they prepared to bury her, but she looked
so fresh and living, and still had such beautiful rosy cheeks, that
they said, 'We cannot bury her in the dark earth.' And so they had a
transparent glass coffin made, so that she could be seen from every
side, laid her inside and wrote on it in letters of gold her name and
how she was a King's daughter. Then they set the coffin out on the
mountain, and one of them always stayed by and watched it. And the
birds came too and mourned for Snowdrop, first an owl, then a raven,
and lastly a dove.
Now Snowdrop lay a long, long time in her coffin, looking as though
she were asleep. It happened that a Prince was wandering in the wood,
and came to the home of the seven Dwarfs to pass the night. He saw the
coffin on the mountain and lovely Snowdrop inside, and read what was
written in golden letters. Then he said to the Dwarfs, 'Let me have
the coffin; I will give you whatever you like for it.'