Once upon a time, in the middle of winter, when the flakes of snow
fell like feathers from the sky, a queen sat at a window set in an
ebony frame, and sewed. While she was sewing and watching the snow
fall, she pricked her finger with her needle, and three drops of blood
dropped on the snow. And because the crimson looked so beautiful on
the white snow, she thought: "Oh that I had a child as white as snow,
as red as blood, and as black as the wood of this ebony frame!"
Soon afterwards she had a little daughter, who was as white as snow,
as red as blood, and had hair as black as ebony. And when the child
was born the queen died.
After a year had gone by the king took another wife. She was a
handsome lady, but proud and haughty, and could not endure that any
one should surpass her in beauty. She had a wonderful mirror, and
whenever she walked up to it, and looked at herself in it, she said:
"Little glass upon the wall,
Who is fairest among us all?"
Then the mirror replied:
"Lady queen, so grand and tall,
Thou art the fairest of them all."
And she was satisfied, for she knew the mirror always told the truth.
But Snowdrop grew ever taller and fairer, and at seven years old was
beautiful as the day, and more beautiful than the queen herself. So
once, when the queen asked of her mirror:
"Little glass upon the wall,
Who is fairest among us all?"
it answered:
"Lady queen, you are grand and tall,
But Snowdrop is fairest of you all."
Then the queen was startled, and turned yellow and green with envy.
From that hour she so hated Snowdrop, that she burned with secret
wrath whenever she saw the maiden. Pride and envy grew apace like
weeds in her heart, till she had no rest day or night. So she called a
huntsman and said: "Take the child out in the forest, for I will
endure her no longer in my sight. Kill her, and bring me her lungs and
liver as tokens that you have done it."
The huntsman obeyed, and led the child away; but when he had drawn his
hunting-knife, and was about to pierce Snowdrop's innocent heart, she
began to weep, and said: "Ah! dear huntsman, spare my life, and I
will run deep into the wild forest, and never more come home."
The huntsman took pity on her, because she looked so lovely, and said,
"Run away then, poor child!" ("The wild beasts will soon make an end
of thee," he thought.) But it seemed as if a stone had been rolled
from his heart because he had avoided taking her life; and as a little
bear came by just then, he killed it, took out its liver and lungs,
and carried them as tokens to the queen. She made the cook dress them
with salt, and then the wicked woman ate them, and thought she had
eaten Snowdrop's lungs and liver. The poor child was now all alone in
the great forest, and she felt frightened as she looked at all the
leafy trees, and knew not what to do. So she began to run, and ran
over the sharp stones, and through the thorns; and the wild beasts
passed close to her, but did her no harm. She ran as long as her feet
could carry her, and when evening closed in, she saw a little house,
and went into it to rest herself. Everything in the house was very
small, but I cannot tell you how pretty and clean it was.
There stood a little table, covered with a white tablecloth, on which
were seven little plates (each little plate with its own little
spoon)--also seven little knives and forks, and seven little cups.
Round the walls stood seven little beds close together, with sheets as
white as snow. Snowdrop being so hungry and thirsty, ate a little of
the vegetables and bread on each plate, and drank a drop of wine from
every cup, for she did not like to empty one entirely.
Then, being very tired, she laid herself down in one of the beds, but
could not make herself comfortable, for one was too long, and another
too short. The seventh, luckily, was just right; so there she stayed,
said her prayers, and fell asleep.
When it was grown quite dark, home came the masters of the house,
seven dwarfs, who delved and mined for iron among the mountains. They
lighted their seven candles, and as soon as there was a light in the
kitchen, they saw that some one had been there, for it was not quite
so orderly as they had left it.