SNOW WHITE

A Brothers Grimm Fairytale

Story by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Illustrated by Franz Jüttner

Translated by Margaret Hunt and Joseph Jacobs

Adapted by Rachel Louise Lawrence

BlackdownPublications

This revised edition of the Brothers Grimm “Sneewittchen” from ‘Kinder- und Hausmärchen’ (1812) and English translation by Margaret Hunt from ‘Children's and Household Tales’ (1884) and Joseph Jacobs from ‘European Folk and Fairy Tales’ (1916) first published in 2014 by Blackdown Publications BlackdownPublications Address 83 Blackdown View, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0BD Email blackdownpublications@mail.com Copyright © Rachel Louise Lawrence 2014 Illustrations by Franz Jüttner (1905)

The rights of Rachel Louise Lawrence to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior permission of the author. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. Folklore Type: ATU-709 (Snow White)

CONTENTS

I The Wishes of a Queen 4

II The Kindness of Strangers 7

III The Trickery of a Queen 12

IV A Prince and a Glass Coffin 21

Author’s Note 26

CHAPTER I THE WISHES OF A QUEEN

Once upon a time, there was a Queen who had no

children, and it made her sad with grief. One afternoon,

in the middle of winter, when the flakes of snow fell like

feathers from the sky, the Queen sat at a window

sewing. While sewing, she looked out of the window at

the falling snow and pricked her finger with the needle.

Three drops of blood fell upon the snow.

Seeing how pretty the red looked on the white

snow, the Queen thought to herself, “If only I had a child

as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the

wood of the window frame.”

Time passed and the Queen gave birth to a little

girl, a daughter with skin as white as snow, cheeks as

red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, so they called

her Snow White.

The Queen was a beautiful woman, but proud and

vain, and jealous of all women who were thought to be

more beautiful than she was. She possessed a magic

mirror, and every morning she would stand in front of

it and say:

“Mirror, mirror on the wall,

Who is the fairest one of all?”

And the mirror always answered:

“O, my Queen, on your throne,

The greatest beauty is your own.”

The Queen was happy, for she knew the mirror

spoke only the truth.

Every year, Snow White grew more and more

beautiful, till at last, one day, when the Queen asked the

mirror who was the fairest one of all, it replied:

“O, my Queen, on your throne,

Snow White is the fairest, you must own.”

The Queen was shocked, and turned green with

envy. From that moment on, whenever she looked at

Snow White, her heart heaved in her chest, and she

grew to hate her daughter. The Queen’s envy and pride

grew, until she felt no peace, day or night, and all she

could think about was how to get rid of Snow White.

At last, the Queen called for a huntsman, and

offered him a large sum of money, saying, “Take the girl

into the forest; I cannot stand to see her every day. Kill

her, and bring me back her heart.”

CHAPTER II THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

The huntsman obeyed his Queen, and took Snow White

out into the great forest. But, when he had drawn his

knife, and was about to pierce Snow White’s innocent

heart, she began to weep, and said, “Please leave me my

life, dear huntsman!”

Snow White was so beautiful that the huntsman

took pity on her, saying, “Run away, then, you poor

child. Run away into the forest, and never, for my sake

as well as your own, return home to the palace.”

As Snow White fled, a young deer came running by.

The huntsman killed it, and took its heart back to the

Queen as proof that her daughter was dead.

Meanwhile, Snow White wandered on through the

great forest, all alone, terrified of any and all sounds

and movements. Not knowing what to do, she began to

run, over sharp stones and through grasping thorns;

wild beasts ran around her, but did her no harm.

She ran as long as her feet could carry her, until it

was almost dusk; and then suddenly she saw a light. She

walked towards it and came to a mountain hut. She

knocked at the door, but got no reply.

Snow White was so tired, she lifted the latch and

walked inside the hut, where she found a table set for

seven and seven beds against the wall, but no people.

She was so hungry, she ate some bread and

vegetables from each plate and a sip of wine from each

mug, for she did not think it fair to take all from one

only. Then, because she was so tired, she laid down on a

bed and fell asleep there.

When it was quite dark the owners of the cottage

came back; they were seven dwarfs who dug and

delved in the mountains for ore. They lit their seven

candles and saw that someone had been there, for

everything was not in the same order in which they had

left it.

The first said, “Who has sat on my chair?”

The second, “Who has eaten from my plate?”

The third, “Who has taken some of my bread?”

The fourth, “Who has eaten my vegetables?”

The fifth, “Who has used my fork?”

The sixth, "Who has been cutting with my knife?”

The seventh, "Who has drunk from my mug?”

Then the first looked round and saw Snow White,

who was lying asleep on his bed. “Someone is sleeping

in my bed; just look how beautiful she is!”

The dwarfs were so glad that they did not wake

her up, but let her sleep on in the bed. And the dwarf

whose bed Snow White slept in, slept with his

companions, one hour with each, and so got through the

night.

When it was morning Snow White awoke, and was

alarmed when she saw the seven dwarfs. But they were

friendly and asked her what her name was. “My name is

Snow White,” she answered.

“How have you come to our house?” said the

dwarfs.

So Snow White told them that her mother had

wished to have her killed, but that the huntsman had

spared her life, and that she had run for the whole day,

until at last she had found their hut.

The dwarfs said, “If you will take care of our house,

cook, make the beds, wash, sew, and knit, and if you will

keep everything neat and clean, you can stay with us

and you shall want for nothing.”

“Yes,” said Snow White, “with all my heart,” and

she stayed with them and agreed to keep the house in

order for them. The next morning, they went to the

mountains and looked for copper and gold, and in the

evening they came back, and their supper was ready for

them.

As Snow White would be alone during the day, the

good dwarfs warned her, “Beware of your mother, she

will soon know that you are here. Be sure to let no one

come in.”