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Once upon a time, in the middle of winter, a queen was sitting by a black ebony window watching the snowflakes fall like feathers from the sky and sew. The moment she glanced at the snow, the queen stabbed herself in the finger with a needle and three drops of her blood fell on the snow. She thought that red drops of blood looked beautiful on the snow and wished to give birth to a child with white skin like snow, red cheeks like blood, and black hair like a window frame.
"If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood in this frame."
After a while, the queen gave birth to a beautiful girl just the way she wanted - her skin was white as snow, her cheeks were red as blood, and her hair was black as ebony, which is why the queen gave her the name Snow White.
Unfortunately, the queen died in childbirth, so Snow White lost her mother early. A year after her mother's death, Snow White's father remarried, but this time to a beautiful woman who was arrogant and proud, but also a witch who could not stand to be surpassed by someone beyond her beauty. She thought of herself as the most beautiful woman in the world and always had a magic mirror with her that told her what she wanted to hear.
Every day she would ask her magic mirror:
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who in this land is fairest of all?"
And the mirror would suit her:
"You, my queen, are fairest of all."
Each time the magic mirror told her she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and she was pleased because she knew that the magic mirror always told the truth.
Every day, Snow White grew more and more into a beautiful young girl, and when she turned seven, it became obvious that she would be more beautiful than the new queen (her stepmother).
One day, the queen, as usual, asked her magic mirror who is the most beautiful woman in the world, but that day the magic mirror answered that she is the most beautiful here, but that Snow White is thousand times more beautiful.
As the magic mirror always told the truth, it caused terrible anger among the queen, she turned green and yellow with envy. It didn't take long for her stepmother to start feeling jealous. Her heart would break out of anger every time she saw her. She couldn't stand that there was someone more beautiful than her, let alone her stepdaughter. She couldn't have peace, so she came up with a plan. She summoned one of the hunters to take the girl to the forest and kill her there.
"Take Snow-White out into the woods. I never want to see her again. Kill her, and as proof that she is dead bring her lungs and her liver back to me."
The hunter took Snow White to the forest, but when he took out a knife and went to stab her in the heart, Snow White started crying and begged him not to take her life. She promised him that if he lets her escape into the forest, she would never return to the castle, so no one will find out that he has not completed his task. However, the hunter pitied her, so he let her escape into the forest, thinking that beasts would devour her, so Snow White would die anyway. But still, a huge burden fell from his heart when he realized that he didn't have to be the one to kill her.
"He thought, "The wild animals will soon devour you anyway," but still it was as if a stone had fallen from his heart, for he would not have to kill her."
Instead, the hunter slaughtered a wild boar and took out his liver and lungs as proof that he had killed Snow White. The queen ordered the liver and lungs to be salted and cooked. Later she ate them thinking she was eating Snow White's liver and lungs. After that, the queen was calm again.
Meanwhile, Snow White was running away from her terrible stepmother and was going deeper and deeper into the huge forest, not knowing where she was. She was so scared that she just looked around and did not know what to do. She ran through the thorned branches and over the sharp stones. Soon, the darkness began to fall and her feet started to hurt. Finally, she came to a small house where she decided to rest.
When she entered the house, she saw that everything was very small but clean and lovely. She saw a small table with a small white tablecloth, and on it were seven small plates, spoons, forks, knives, and goblets. Along the wall stood small beds stacked on top of each other with clean white sheets. Since Snow White was very hungry, she took a piece of bread from each plate and drank one sip of wine from each cup because she didn't want to take everything from just one. She was very tired, so she decided to get some rest and sleep. None of her beds were made to measure - the first was too short, the second too long, and only the seventh was right for her. She prayed to God and fell asleep.
When it got dark, the hosts who lived there returned home - they were seven dwarves who worked in the mountains during the day, digging and extracting the ore.
When they entered the house, each lit their own candle and noticed that some things were not in the places where they left them and that someone was in their house.
"The first one said, "Who has been sitting in my chair?"
The second one, "Who has been eating from my plate?"
The third one, "Who has been eating my bread?"
The fourth one, "Who has been eating my vegetables?"
The fifth one, "Who has been sticking with my fork?"
The sixth one, "Who has been cutting with my knife?"
The seventh one, "Who has been drinking from my mug?"
Then the first one noticed that someone had left an imprint on his bed. The other dwarves noticed the same thing, and the seventh dwarf, when he looked at his bed, saw Snow White. He started shouting in wonder: "Oh, my God!". The dwarves pointed their candles right at Snow White's face. They concluded that the girl was beautiful and were so happy that they wanted to wake her up, but decided to leave her to sleep.
When morning came, Snow White woke up and saw seven dwarfs, so she got scared. But they were nice and asked her what her name was and how she got to their little house. She told them the whole story - that her stepmother wanted to kill her, but that the hunter let her go, so she ran for a long time until she came across their house in the woods.
The dwarves took pity on the girl's fate and allowed her to stay with them. She proved to be useful and good, so she cleaned their house and cooked and everyone was happy with the new situation. The dwarves went to the mountain in the morning, and Snow White stayed and took care of the house.
As the girl was alone during the day, they advised her not to let anyone into the house.
The day came when the stepmother again asked the magic mirror who is the most beautiful woman in the world. She expected to hear her name because she believed the girl was dead. She was shocked when she heard Snow White's name again. In addition to finding out that the girl was alive, the mirror also told her where the girl was.
"You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow-White, beyond the mountains
With the seven dwarfs,
Is still a thousand times fairer than you."
She now knew that the hunter had deceived her and that she had to make sure that Snow White dies, so she started thinking and making plans. She decided to disguise herself as an old peddler woman, and that she would cross seven mountains to seven dwarfs.
When she came in front of the house, she knocked on the door, shouting that she was selling beautiful ribbons and braids in all colors. Snow White didn't recognize her, so she let her into the house, and bought a nice belt. When she tried it on, the old woman quickly fastened her belt and tightened it so much that Snow White immediately collapsed, and the old peddler woman ran away.
When it got dark, the dwarves returned home and saw Snow White lying on the floor. They were afraid that she was dead. They noticed that she has a belt that she didn't have before and that it is too tight, so they cut it, and Snow White started to breathe slowly.
When she regained consciousness, she told the dwarves what happened, and they told her that the old peddler woman was not what she pretended to be, that it was the queen.
When she returned home, the evil queen immediately asked the mirror who is the most beautiful woman in the world, but did not get the answer she expected.
"You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow-White, beyond the mountains
With the seven dwarfs,
Is still a thousand times fairer than you."
When she heard it, she was shocked. It was not clear to her how Snow White was alive again, so now she had to think of something that would kill her for good. She took a beautiful comb and with the help of magic and sorcery, she made it poisonous. She disguised herself and took the form of another old woman, and once more she went over seven mountains to seven dwarves.
When she arrived at the door, she knocked, but Snow White told her to go away because she must not let anyone in. But the old woman persuaded her by telling her that watching is not forbidden and that she only wants to show her a beautiful comb. Snow White agreed and the old woman put a comb in her hair. Snow White collapsed unconscious, and the old woman ran away again.
As the evening was not far away, the dwarves soon returned home and saw Snow White lying on the floor again. Although they were scared, they suspected her stepmother again, so they started looking for an unknown object and found a comb. As soon as they pulled him out, Snow White regained consciousness, and the dwarves warned her again that she must not trust anyone and should not let anyone into the house.
When the old woman returned home, she stood in front of the mirror and asked him who was the most beautiful woman in the world, and the mirror answered as before - Snow White. When she heard her name, she trembled with rage and decided that Snow White must die now, once and for all. She went to a hidden room that no one has ever been allowed to enter, and used magic to make a poisonous apple. On the outside, the apple looked beautiful, half white, half red, so that everyone who sees it will want to bite it, but also die from the smallest piece. When she had finished making the apple, she colored her face and disguised herself as a poor peasant woman. As such, she went over seven mountains to seven dwarves.
When she got to the house, she knocked on the door, but Snow White told her that the dwarves forbade her to talk to strangers. The peasant woman replied that it was okay, that she would sell her apples somewhere else, but that she would leave one as a gift.
""That is all right with me," answered the peasant woman. "I'll easily get rid of my apples. Here, I'll give you one of them.""
Snow White told her that she must not receive anything and that the apple might be poisoned. To prove it to her, the queen bit into the white part of the apple, and offered Snow White the red part. As the apple looked irresistibly delicious, Snow White stared at it with longing, watching the peasant woman eat it. She reached out and took the poisonous half. As soon as she bit the apple, Snow White immediately fell to the ground.
"Now the apple had been so artfully made that only the red half was poisoned. Snow-White longed for the beautiful apple, and when she saw that the peasant woman was eating part of it she could no longer resist, and she stuck her hand out and took the poisoned half. She barely had a bite in her mouth when she fell to the ground dead."
The queen continued to watch her and said that this time the dwarves will not be able to save her and wake her up on time.
When she got home, she immediately asked the mirror who is the most beautiful woman in the world, and the magic mirror answered that she is the most beautiful. Only then did her addicted heart calm down.
When they got home, dwarfs found her lying on the floor and started looking for unknown objects, but this time they couldn't find anything. Her breath stopped coming out of her mouth, but they didn't give up. They combed her hair in search of a comb, but they didn't find it. They untied her belt from her dress, thinking it was too tight, but it wasn't. They washed her and bathed her in wine and water, but nothing helped. When they failed to bring her back to life, they laid her body on a bier and began to mourn her. They cried for their Snow White for three days, and then they decided to bury her.
They noticed that Snow White is still fresh if she is still alive and they were sorry to bury such a beautiful girl in the black earth, so they decided to make a glass coffin. That way they will be able to watch her for some time.
"They said, "We cannot bury her in the black earth," and they had a transparent glass coffin made, so she could be seen from all sides."
They covered the coffin with flowers, above they wrote her name in golden letters, and that she was a princess. They took the coffin with Snow White to the shore and every day one of the dwarves stood guard.
The animals also approached and mourned the beautiful girl every day. First came the owl, then the raven, and then the dove. Snow White lay in a glass coffin for a very long time. Her body did not rot, but she looked as if she were asleep. She was still white as snow, with rosy cheeks and black hair like ebony.
At that time, a young prince was passing through the woods, and since he needed a rest, he was thinking of asking the dwarves if he could spend the night in their house. He saw a glass coffin on the shore and Snow White. As soon as he saw her, he immediately fell in love. He asked them to give him the coffin, and he would give them everything they wanted. The dwarves told him that they would not give him a coffin with Snow White for all the gold in this world.
"Then he said to the dwarfs, "Let me have the coffin. I will give you anything you want for it." But the dwarfs answered, "We will not sell it for all the gold in the world.""
The prince then asked them to give it to him as a present because he could not live without watching Snow White. He told them that he will honor her as something he loves most.
Because of his words, the dwarves began to pity him so they decided to give him the coffin and Snow White. The prince ordered his servants to carry the coffin on their shoulders to his castle, but they stumbled on the bush and the coffin fell out. Due to the force of the hit, Snow White dislodged a piece of apple out of her throat.
It wasn't long before Snow White opened her eyes, lifted the lid from the coffin, and asked where she was. The prince, overjoyed, told her that she is with him and what happened. He confessed to her that he loves her more than anything in the world and asked if she would be his wife. At that moment, Snow White fell in love with him. They had a lavish and magnificent wedding to which Snow White's stepmother was also invited.
She put on her most beautiful dress, stood in front of the magic mirror, and asked who was the most beautiful woman in the world, and the mirror answered that the young queen was the most beautiful.
She was so raged that she didn't know what to do. At first, she didn't want to go to the wedding at all, but she didn't have peace. She had to go see that new young queen. As soon as she entered the hall, she saw Snow White, and out of horror and fear, she remained buried in the place. She wanted to leave, but they had already put iron slippers on her feet, so she had to dance in front of them until she fell to the ground dead.
"Then they put a pair of iron shoes into burning coals. They were brought forth with tongs and placed before her. She was forced to step into the red-hot shoes and dance until she fell down dead."
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