“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
it answered at last—
“Oh, Queen, in this land thou art fairest of all.”
Then her envious heart had rest, so far as an envious heart can have
rest.
The dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found Snow-white lying
upon the ground; she breathed no longer and was dead. They lifted her
up, looked to see whether they could find anything poisonous, unlaced
her, combed her hair, washed her with water and wine, but it was all of
no use; the poor child was dead, and remained dead. They laid her upon
a bier, and all seven of them sat round it and wept for her, and wept
three days long.
Then they were going to bury her, but she still looked as if she were
living, and still had her pretty red cheeks. They said, “We could not
bury her in the dark ground,” and they had a transparent coffin of
glass made, so that she could be seen from all sides, and they laid her
in it, and wrote her name upon it in golden letters, and that she was a
king’s daughter. Then they put the coffin out upon the mountain, and
one of them always stayed by it and watched it. And birds came too, and
wept for Snow-white; first an owl, then a raven, and last a dove.
And now Snow-white lay a long, long time in the coffin, and she did not
change, but looked as if she were asleep; for she was as white as snow,
as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony.
It happened, however, that a king’s son came into the forest, and went
to the dwarfs’ house to spend the night. He saw the coffin on the
mountain, and the beautiful Snow-white within it, and read what was
written upon it in golden letters. Then he said to the dwarfs, “Let me
have the coffin, I will give you whatever you want for it.” But the
dwarfs answered, “We will not part with it for all the gold in the
world.” Then he said, “Let me have it as a gift, for I cannot live
without seeing Snow-white. I will honour and prize her as my dearest
possession.” As he spoke in this way the good dwarfs took pity upon
him, and gave him the coffin.
And now the King’s son had it carried away by his servants on their
shoulders. And it happened that they stumbled over a tree-stump, and
with the shock the poisonous piece of apple which Snow-white had bitten
off came out of her throat. And before long she opened her eyes, lifted
up the lid of the coffin, sat up, and was once more alive. “Oh,
heavens, where am I?” she cried. The King’s son, full of joy, said,
“You are with me,” and told her what had happened, and said, “I love
you more than everything in the world; come with me to my father’s
palace, you shall be my wife.”
And Snow-white was willing, and went with him, and their wedding was
held with great show and splendour. But Snow-white’s wicked step-mother
was also bidden to the feast. When she had arrayed herself in beautiful
clothes she went before the Looking-glass, and said—
“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
the glass answered—
“Oh, Queen, of all here the fairest art thou,
But the young Queen is fairer by far as I trow.”
Then the wicked woman uttered a curse, and was so wretched, so utterly
wretched, that she knew not what to do. At first she would not go to
the wedding at all, but she had no peace, and must go to see the young
Queen. And when she went in she knew Snow-white; and she stood still
with rage and fear, and could not stir. But iron slippers had already
been put upon the fire, and they were brought in with tongs, and set
before her. Then she was forced to put on the red-hot shoes, and dance
until she dropped down dead.