Once upon a time there was a little princess called Snowdrop, who had
a cruel step-mother who was jealous of her. The Queen had a magic
mirror, which could speak to her, and when she looked into it and
asked who was the fairest lady in the land the mirror told her she
was, for she was very beautiful; but as Snowdrop grew up she became
still more lovely than her step-mother and the mirror did not fail to
tell the Queen this.
So she ordered one of her huntsmen to take Snowdrop away and kill her;
but he was too tender-hearted to do this and left the maiden in the
wood and went home again. Snowdrop wandered about until she came to
the house of seven little dwarfs, and they were so kind as to take her
in and let her live with them. She used to make their seven little
beds, and prepare the meals for the seven little men, and they were
all quite happy until the Queen found out from her mirror that
Snowdrop was alive still, for, as it always told the truth, it still
told her Snowdrop was the fairest lady in the land.
She decided that Snowdrop must die, so she dyed her face and dressed
up like an old pedlar, and in this disguise she went to the home of
the seven Dwarfs and called out, "Laces for sale."
Snowdrop peeped out of the window and said, "Good-day, mother; what
have you to sell?"
"Good laces, fine laces, laces of every color," and she held out one
that was made of gay silk.
Snowdrop opened the door and bought the pretty lace.
"Child," said the old woman, "you are a sight, let me lace you
properly for once."
Snowdrop placed herself before the old woman, who laced her so quickly
and so tightly that she took away Snowdrop's breath and she fell down
as though dead.
Not long after the seven dwarfs came home they found that she was
laced too tight and cut the lace, whereupon Snowdrop began to breathe
and soon came back to life again.
When the Queen got home and found by asking her mirror that Snowdrop
was still alive, she planned to make an end of her for good, so she
made a poisoned comb and disguised herself to look like a different
old woman.
She journeyed to the dwarfs' home and induced Snowdrop to let her comb
her hair. The minute she put the poisoned comb in her hair Snowdrop
fell down as though dead.
When the seven dwarfs came home they found their poor Snowdrop on the
floor, and suspecting the bad Queen began to look for the cause, soon
finding the comb. No sooner had they removed it than Snowdrop came to
life again.
Upon the Queen's return home she found by asking her mirror that
Snowdrop still lived, so she disguised herself a third time and came
to the dwarfs' little house and gave Snowdrop a poisoned apple. As
soon as the little princess took a bite it stuck in her throat and
choked her.
Oh! how grieved were the good little dwarfs. They made a fine glass
coffin, and put Snowdrop into it and were carrying her away to bury
her when they met a prince, who fell in love with the little dead
maiden, and begged the dwarfs to give her to him.
The dwarfs were so sorry for him they consented, and the prince's
servants were about to carry the coffin away when they stumbled and
fell over the root of a tree. Snowdrop received such a violent jerk
that the poisonous apple was jerked right out of her throat and she
sat up alive and well again.
_Of course_ she married the prince, and she, her husband and the good
little dwarfs lived happily ever after, but the cruel step-mother came
to a bad end, and no one was even sorry for her.