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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