PART FOUR

Once home the wicked Queen asked the magic mirror, “magic mirror upon the wall, who NOW is the fairest one of all?" at last it answered, “You are the fairest now of all.” Then her evil, envious heart found peace, as much as any evil, envious heart can.

The dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found Snow-white lying on the ground, there came no breath out of her mouth, the poor child was dead, and remained dead. They laid her on a bier, and all seven of them sat around it, and wept for three whole days. Then they would have buried her, but she still looked as if she were alive, with a beautiful blush to her cheeks. So, they said, “We cannot hide her away in the black ground.” And they had made a coffin of clear glass, so as to be looked into from all sides, they laid her in it, and in golden letters, they wrote her name, and that she was a King’s daughter. Then they set the coffin out upon the mountain, and one of them was always there, to guard it.

Now, for a long while Snow-white lay in the coffin and never changed, but looked as if she were asleep, for she was still as white as snow, lips, red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony. It happened, however, that a King’s son rode through the wood and up to the dwarfs’ house, which was near it. He saw the coffin on the mountain, and beautiful Snow-white within. Reading what was written in golden letters upon it, he said to the dwarfs, “Let me have the coffin with Snow-White in it, and I will give you whatever you ask for it.” The dwarfs told him that they could not part with it for all the gold in the world. But he said, “please give it me, for I cannot live without looking upon Snow-white; if you consent you will be given great honours, and I will care for you all, as if you were my brothers.” When he said this the good dwarfs had pity upon him and gave him the coffin, and the King’s son called his servants and bid them carry it away on their shoulders. Now it happened that as they were going along they stumbled over a bush, and with the shaking, a bit of poisoned apple flew out of Snow-White’s throat. Soon her eyes fluttered opened, she threw open the cover of the coffin, and sat up, alive and well. “Where am I?” she cried. The King’s son answered, full of joy, “You are with me,” and, told her all that had happened, he said, “I would rather have you next to me than anything in the world; come with me to my father’s castle and you shall be my bride.” Snow-white thought she might grow to like the handsome young Prince and went with him.

The wedding was held with great pomp and splendour. But Snow-white’s wicked stepmother was also invited to the feast, when she had dressed herself in beautiful clothes she went to her mirror and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is fairest one of all?" The mirror answered, “Oh Queen, although you are of beauty rare, the young bride is a thousand times more fair." The wicked Queen screamed and cursed and beat her fists in frustration and anger on the walls of the palace until they bled. At first she thought she would not go to the wedding; but then she felt she would have no peace until she saw the bride. She went to the wedding and saw, to her horror, that the bride was Snow-white, but she could not move from the place for anger and terror. When Snow-white looked into her eyes, her stepmother could see that Snow-White was by far more beautiful than she ever was or could be, and since this was all the woman cared about in the world, the jealousy burned into her heart, like acid, and she died there, in the feasting hall. None mourned her passing.

THE END

PART THREE

When the wicked woman got home she went to her mirror and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" The mirror answered as before, “Queen, thou art of beauty rare, but Snow-White living in the glen with the seven little men is a thousand times more fair." When she heard that she was so shocked that all the blood left her heart, for she knew that Snow-white must still be living. “But this time,” she said, “I will do something that will be her ruin.” And by witchcraft she made a poisoned comb. Then she disguised herself as yet another old woman, different from the first, and went to the house of the seven dwarfs again, she knocked at the door crying, “beautiful combs for sale!” Snow-white looked out and said, “Sorry, please go away, I must not let anybody inside the house.”

“But you are not forbidden to look,” said the wicked Queen, taking out the poisoned comb and holding it up. It pleased Snow-White so much that she opened the door, (foolish girl) and when the bargain was made the old woman said, “Now, your hair shall be properly combed.” Poor Snow-white, thinking no harm, let the old woman do as she would, (rather silly of her, I think, don’t you?) Sure enough, no sooner was the comb put in her hair than the poison began to work, and the poor girl fell down senseless.

“Now, you paragon of beauty,” said the wicked woman, “this is the end of you,” and off she went, laughing that laugh again.

By good luck it was now near evening, and the seven dwarfs came home. When they saw Snow-white lying on the ground as though dead, they knew that it was the wicked Queen’s doing, one of them found the poisoned comb, and no sooner had they taken it out of her hair than Snow-white recovered, and told them all that had happened. They warned her once more to be on her guard, and never again to let anyone in the house.

Back in the palace, the Queen stood before the looking-glass and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" The mirror answered as before, “Queen, thou art of beauty rare, But Snow-white living in the glen with the seven little men is a thousand times more fair." When she heard the mirror say this, she trembled and shook with anger. “Snow-white shall die,” she cried, “even if it should cost me my own life!” She went to a secret chamber, where no one was likely to come, and there she made a poisonous apple. It was beautiful to look upon, this lush, red and green apple, anyone who should see it must long for it, but whoever ate even a little bit of the poisoned part, would die. When the apple was ready she painted her face and clothed herself like a peasant woman and went to where the seven dwarfs lived.

When she knocked at the door Snow-white put her head out of the window and said, “I dare not let anybody in; the seven dwarfs told me not to.” “Alright,” answered the woman; “I can easily get rid of my apples elsewhere. Here, I will give you this one.”

“No,” answered Snow-white, “I dare not take anything.”

“Are you afraid of poison?” said the woman, “look here, I will cut the apple in two pieces; you shall have the red side, I will have the green one.” For the apple was so cunningly made, that all the poison was in the rosy half of it. Snow-white longed for the delicious looking apple, and as she saw the peasant woman eating a piece of it she could no longer resist and took the poisoned half. No sooner had she bitten into it than she fell to the ground as though dead. And the Queen, her beautiful face twisted into a mask of vile horror, laughed aloud, and cried, “As white as snow, as red as blood, as black as ebony! This time the dwarfs will not be able to bring you to life again.” And she laughed like the mad woman she was as she made her way back to the palace.

PART TWO

When it was quite dark, the masters of the house came home. They were seven dwarfs, who worked all day digging underground among the mountains for gold and precious stones. When they had lighted their seven candles, and it was bright in the little house, they saw that someone had been there, things were not as they’d been left in the morning. Then one of them looked at his bed and saw Snow-white lying there asleep. “Look!” He said. The others came running up, crying out in their astonishment, and holding up their seven little candles to throw light upon Snow-white. “O goodness! O gracious!” They cried, “who is this beautiful girl?” They were so full of joy to see her that they did not wake her but let her sleep on. The seventh dwarf shared a bed with one of his comrades.

When it was morning, and Snow-white awoke and saw the seven dwarfs, she was very frightened; but they seemed quite friendly, they asked her what her name was, and she told them; then they asked how she came to be in their house. She told them how her stepmother had tried to have her put to death and of her escape. The dwarfs said, “If you will keep our house for us, and cook, and wash, and make the beds, and sew and knit, and keep everything tidy and clean, you may stay with us, and you shall lack nothing.”

“With all my heart, I will happily stay here.” said Snow-white. And so, she stayed, and kept the house in good order. In the morning, the dwarfs went to the mountain to dig for gold and precious stones; in the evening they came home, and their supper would be ready for them. All day long Snow-White was left alone, and the good dwarfs warned her, saying, “beware of your stepmother, she will soon find out that you are here. Let no one into the house.”

Now the Queen, having eaten Snow-white’s heart, as she supposed, felt quite sure that she was the most beautiful in the land again, and so she came to her mirror, and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, Who is the fairest one of all?" And the mirror answered, “Queen, thou art of beauty rare, But Snow-white living in the glen with the seven little men is a thousand times more fair." The wicked Queen was extremely angry, for the mirror always spoke the truth, the huntsman had deceived her! Snow-white is still alive! She thought and thought until her nose bled, on how she could make an end of Snow-White, she could not be happy so long as there was another more beautiful than herself in the land, so poisoned was she with envy. At last she thought of a plan; she painted her face and dressed herself like an old peddler woman, so that no one would have known her. In this disguise she went across the seven mountains, until she came to the house of the seven dwarfs, and she knocked at the door and cried, “Fine lace for sale! fine lace for sale!” Snow-white peeped out of the window and cried, “Good-day, good woman, what have you to sell?” “Good wares, fine wares,” answered she, “laces of all colours.” And she held up a piece that was woven of silk.

I need not be afraid of letting in this good woman, thought Snow-White, and she unbarred the door and bought the pretty lace. “What a figure you are, child!” said the old woman, “come and let me lace you properly.” Snow-White, suspecting nothing, stood up before her, and let her tie the lace. But the old woman laced it so quickly and tightly that it took Snow-White’s breath away, and she fell down as though dead. “Now you are not the fairest in the land, you are dead!” said the wicked Queen, as she hastened away, laughing crazily - as all wicked people seem to, when they have done something particularly horrible.

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SNOW-WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

PART ONE

It was the middle of winter, and snowflakes were falling like feathers from the sky. A Queen sat at her window, working at her embroidery. As she worked, gazing at times out on the snow, she accidentally pricked her finger, and there fell from it three drops of blood on the snow. When she saw how bright and red it looked, she said to herself, “Oh I wish I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the ebony wood of this embroidery frame!”

Not long after she had a daughter, with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, and she was named Snow-White. But there is a price for every wish, and when she was born her mother, the Queen, died.

Some years later, the King took another wife, a beautiful woman, but proud, vain, and demanding. She could not bear to be surpassed in beauty by anyone. The woman had a magic mirror and she used to stand before it, look in it, and say, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" And the mirror would answer, “You are fairest of them all.” And she was contented, for she knew that the mirror could only speak the truth.

Now, Snow-white was growing prettier and prettier, and when she was sixteen years old she was as beautiful as day, far more so than the Queen herself. So, one day when the Queen went to her mirror and said, “magic mirror upon the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" It answered, “Queen, you are full fair, it’s true, But Snow-white is fairer than you." This shocked the Queen to her very core, she became yellow and green with envy, and from that hour her heart turned against Snow-white, and she hated her. Envy and pride like poison weeds grew in her heart, twisting up higher every day, until she had no peace. When her hatred became unbearable she sent for a huntsman, and said, “Take the girl out into the woods, so that I may set eyes on her no more. You must kill her and bring me her heart.” The huntsman did as he was told and led Snow-White away; but when he drew his dagger to pierce her innocent heart, she began to weep, and said, “dear huntsman, don’t kill me. I will go away into the wild wood, and never come home again.” The huntsman had pity on her, and said, “Away with you then, poor child.” He thought the wild animals would be sure to devour her, but he also felt as if a stone had been rolled away from his heart when he decided not to kill the innocent girl. As he walked back, wondering what to tell the wicked Queen, a young wild boar came running by, so he caught and killed it, and taking out its heart, he brought it to the Queen and told her it was Snow-White’s heart. The Queen had it salted and cooked, and the wicked woman ate it up, thinking that was the end of Snow-white.

Now, the poor girl found herself alone in the wild woods, she was terrified, even of the very leaves on the trees, she didn’t know what to do for fright. She ran over sharp stones and through thorn bushes and believed that the wild beasts of the forest were after her, but they did her no harm. She ran as long as her feet would carry her. When the evening drew near she had some luck and came upon a little house, she went inside to rest. Everything was small inside the house, but as pretty and clean as possible. There stood the little table ready laid, and covered with a white cloth, and seven little plates, and seven small knives and forks, and drinking cups. By the wall stood seven little beds, side by side, covered with clean white quilts. Snow-white, being very hungry and thirsty, ate from each plate a little porridge and bread, and drank out of each little cup a drop of wine, so as not to finish up one portion alone. After that she felt so tired that she lay down on one of the beds and fell asleep.

The Fox and the Crow

A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. "That's for me!" said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. "Good-day, Mistress Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds." The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox.

And, the moral is…

Do not trust flatterers.

The Lion and the Mouse

Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. "Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows, but I may be able to do you a turn one of these days?" The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Some time after, the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a waggon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by and seeing the sad plight of the Lion, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "There, your kindness and friendship to me was not a mistake." said the little Mouse.

And, the moral is…

Little friends may prove great friends.

Man and the Serpent

A Countryman's son by accident trod upon a Serpent's tail, which turned and bit him so that he died. The father in a rage got his axe, and pursuing the Serpent, cut off part of its tail. So the Serpent in revenge began biting several of the Farmer's cattle and caused him severe loss. Well, the Farmer thought it best to make it up with the Serpent, and brought food and honey to the mouth of its lair, and said to it: "Let's forget and forgive; perhaps you were right to punish my son, and take vengeance on my cattle, but surely I was right in trying to revenge him; now that we are both satisfied why shouldn’t we be friends again?"

"No, no," said the Serpent; "take away your gifts; you can never forget the death of your son, nor can I forget the loss of my tail."

And, the moral is…

Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten.

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Now you must know that a Town Mouse once upon a time went on a visit to his cousin in the country. He was rough and ready, this cousin, but he loved his town friend and made him heartily welcome. Beans and bacon, cheese and bread, were all he had to offer, but he offered them freely. The Town Mouse rather turned up his long nose at this country fare, and said: "I cannot understand, Cousin, how you can put up with such poor food as this, but of course you cannot expect anything better in the country; come with me and I will show you how to live. When you have been in town a week you will wonder how you could ever have stood a country life." No sooner said than done: the two mice set off for the town and arrived at the Town Mouse's residence late at night. "You will want some refreshment after our long journey," said the polite Town Mouse, and took his friend into the grand dining-room. There they found the remains of a fine feast, and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes and all that was nice. Suddenly they heard growling and barking. "What is that?" said the Country Mouse. "It’s only the dogs of the house," answered the other. "Only!" said the Country Mouse. "I don’t like that music at my dinner." Just at that moment the door flew open, in came two huge mastiffs, and the two mice had to scamper down and run off. "Good-bye, Cousin," said the Country Mouse, "What! going so soon?" said the other. "Yes," he replied;

"Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear."

PART THREE

So sad the king was dead, (ha, ha!) but the queen was expecting his baby, she brought a beautiful child into the world, and she never gave a thought to the goblin who had helped her and saved her life. But one day there he was, in her room, and he said, "Now give me your first-born, as you promised."

The queen was horror-struck and offered the goblin all the riches of the kingdom if he would leave her the child. But the goblin said, "Don’t bother me with that rubbish, I don’t need it – I can spin straw into gold, as you know! Something alive is dearer to me than all the treasures in the world."

Then the queen began to lament and cry, crying always seemed to work for her in the past, and it did now - the goblin pitied her.

"I will give you three days," he said, "if by that time you can find out my true name, then you can keep your child."

So, the queen thought the whole night of all the names that she had ever heard, and she sent a messenger over the country to inquire, far and wide, for any other names that there might be. When the goblin came the next day, she began with the names, Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar, and said all the other names she knew, one after another, but to everyone the little man said, "No! Not my name."

On the second day she had inquiries made in the neighbourhood, and she repeated to the goblin the most uncommon and curious names she found. Perhaps your name is Shortribs, or Sheepshanks, or Laceleg, but he always answered, "No! Not my name."

On the third day the messenger came back from his searching, and said, "I’m not sure if this is much help, your Majesty, but as I came to a high mountain at the end of the forest, where the fox and the hare say good night to each other, there I saw a little house, and before the house a fire was burning, and round about the fire an odd little goblin was dancing, he hopped upon one leg, and sang -

'Today I bake, tomorrow I brew,

My true name no one ever knew.

Ha, glad am I to play this game

For Rumpelstiltskin is my name.'"

You can imagine how glad the queen was when she heard the name. And when soon afterwards the little man came in, and asked, "Now, mistress queen, what is my true name?"

At first she said, "Is your name Conrad?"

"No."

"Is your name Harry?"

"No."

“Donald?”

“No.”

“Boris?”

“No.”

“Lifeng?”

“No.”

"Then your true name must be - Rumpelstiltskin!"

"The devil has told you that! Only the devil knows my true name!" Cried the little man, and in his anger he plunged his right foot so deep into the earth that his whole leg went in, and then in a rage, he pulled at his left leg so hard with both hands that he tore himself in two and never recovered from the injury. Not fair, really. Poor thing.

The Queen married a nice man and lived happily ever after.

THE END

PART TWO

The girl was crying again, when the door magically opened, the little man came in and said, "What will you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you this time?"

"The ring on my finger," answered the girl.

The little man took the ring, again he began to turn the wheel, and by morning had spun all the straw into glittering gold.

The king rejoiced beyond measure at the sight, but he wanted even more gold, and he took the miller's daughter into a still larger room full of straw, and said, "You must spin this, too, in the course of this night, if you succeed, you shall be my wife, but if you fail – well, let’s just say that you’d better not fail – you know what will happen to you if you do."

Nasty! Just because he was a king, he thought every girl wants to marry him – and, to tell you the truth, he was right, most of them did. The king liked the idea of marrying this one, he had noticed the miller’s daughter’s beauty, but the gift of spinning straw into gold was what he found to be really attractive about her. He was greedy, you see.

When the girl was alone and crying – AGAIN - the goblin came for the third time, and said, "What will you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you now?"

"I have nothing left to give - you’ve got it all." Answered the girl.

"Then promise me, if you should become queen, to give me your first-born child."

The girl thought about it, who knows whether that will ever happen? That’s all in the future. And since there is no future if you’re dead, and, not knowing how else to help herself, she promised the goblin what he wanted. Happily, he once more spun the straw into gold.

When the king came in the morning, and found all that lovely gold filling the room, he married her, and the pretty miller's daughter became a queen. After a while though, the king told her it was about time she got busy making some more gold out of straw, but as I told you, the girl was clever, and before long the greedy king died of ‘natural causes.’