Once upon a time . . . in a great castle, a Prince’s daughter grew up happy and contented, in spite of a jealous stepmother. She was very pretty, with blue eyes and long black hair. Her skin was delicate and fair, and so she was called Snow White. Her stepmother was a wicked woman but she was very beautiful, too as the magic mirror told her this every day, whenever she asked it. Until the dreadful day when she heard it say, ”Snow White is the loveliest in the land.” The stepmother was furious and, wild with jealousy,  began plotting to get rid of her rival.

    She called one of her trusty servants and bribed him with a rich reward to take Snow White into the forest, far away from the Castle. Then, unseen, he was to put her to death. The greedy servant, attracted to the reward, agreed to do this deed, and he led the innocent little girl away. However,  when they came to the fatal spot, the man’s courage failed him and, leaving Snow White sitting beside a tree, he mumbled an excuse and ran off. Snow White was all alone in the forest.

Night came,  but the servant did not return.  Snow White, alone in the dark forest, began to cry bitterly until  at last, overcome by tiredness, fell asleep curled under a tree.  When she woke tomorrow morning, she tried to find out where she was and came upon a path. There, she found a strange cottage, with a tiny door, tiny windows and a tiny chimney pot. Snow White pushed the door open.

”l wonder who lives here?” she said to herself, peeping round the   kitchen. 

”What tiny plates! And spoons! There must be seven of them, the table’s   laid for seven people.” 

”I’ll make them something to eat. When they come home, they’ll  be       glad  to find a meal ready.” Towards dusk, seven tiny men marched       homewards singing.  

”Who are you?” the chief asked. Snow white told them her sad story, and tears sprang to the dwarfs’ eyes.  

”You can live here and tend to the house while we’re down  the mine.   Don’t worry about your stepmother leaving you in the forest. We love   you and we’ll take care of you!” Snow White gratefully accepted their   hospitality, and next morning the dwarfs set off for work. But they   warned Snow White not to open the door to strangers.

Meanwhile, the servant had returned to the castle, with the heart of a roe deer. He gave it to the cruel stepmother, telling her it belonged to Snow White, so that he could claim the reward. Highly pleased, the stepmother turned again to the magic mirror. But her hopes were dashed, for the mirror replied: ”The loveliest in the land is still Snow White, who lives in the seven dwarfs’ cottage, down in the forest.” 

The stepmother was beside herself with rage. 

”She must die! She must die!” she screamed. 

Disguising herself as an old peasant woman, she put a poisoned apple with the others in her basket.

She then took the quickest way into the forest, she crossed the swamp at the edge of the trees. She reached the bank unseen, just as Snow  White stood waving goodbye to the seven dwarfs on their way to the jewel mine.

Snow White was in the kitchen when she heard the sound at the door: KNOCK!  KNOCK!

”Who’s there?” she called suspiciously,   remembering  the dwarfs' advice.