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One winter a beautiful queen sat sewing by a window. As she gazed down at the snow-covered garden she saw a black raven and, at the same moment, she happened to prick her finger on her needle - a drop of blood fell on the snow. The colors were so strong that the queen said to herself, "If only I could have a child whose skin was as white as snow, with hair as black as a raven and lips as red as blood".

Not long afterwards the queen had a baby daughter, and when she saw her jet black hair, snowy white skin and red lips she remembered her strange wish on that winter's day and named her Snow White.

But after a few years Snow White's mother died and her father married again. The new queen, Snow White's stepmother, was beautiful too, but she was also proud and vain. She had a magic mirror and each day she would admire herself in it and ask:
          "Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
           Who is the fairest one of all?",
and the mirror would always reply, "You, O Queen, are the fairest one of all".

The queen would smile when she heard this for she knew the mirror always spoke the truth. As the years went by, when the queen looked in the magic mirror, the mirror replied:
          "You, O Queen, are fair, 'tis true,
           But Snow White is fairer now  than you".

The queen was filled with envy. From that day on she hated Snow White. Finally she called for a hunter and told him to take Snow White deep into the forest and kill her. "Cut, out her heart and bring it back to me to prove she is dead", she commanded.

The hunter felt very sad. Like everyone in the king's household he loved Snow White, but he knew he must obey the queen's orders. He took Snow White deep into the forest and pulled out his knife. Snow White fell to her knees in terror. The hunter took pity on her and told her to hide. Then he killed a deer and cut out its heart to take back to the cruel queen.

On her own in the forest, Snow White felt afraid. She began to run here and there through the trees, but she did not know which way to go. In the evening she came to a clearing and found a little house. She wondered if it was a woodman's cottage where she might be able to stay. When she knocked at the door, there was no answer.

Snow White lifted the latch and went inside. There she saw a room all neat and tidy with a little table laid with seven places - seven little knives and forks, seven little wooden plates and drinking cups. Snow White was hungry and thirsty so she ate some food from each plate and drank a drop from each cup. She did not want to empty one person's plate and cup only.

Beyond the table were seven little beds all neatly made. Snow White tried them all out and the seventh bed was just right. She lay down and fell into a deep sleep, exhausted by her long journey through the forest.

The cottage was the home of seven dwarfs. All day long they worked in a mine nearby, digging diamonds from deep inside the mountain. When they returned home that night, they were startled to see that someone had entered their cottage and had taken some food and drink from each place at their table. They were even more surprised to find their beds disturbed. When the seventh dwarfs found Snow White in his bed he called to the others. They all gathered around her and marveled at her beauty. Being kind little men they decided not to disturb her.

When Snow White awoke the next day she told the dwarfs her story. "I have no home now", she said sadly, and at once the dwarfs asked her to stay with them in the cottage. Snow White agreed happily, and each morning when the dwarfs went off to work, she stayed behind and kept their cottage clean and cooked their supper.

At the palace the queen welcomed the hunter when he returned with the deer's heart. She was certain that once again she was the most beautiful woman in the world. As soon as she was alone she looked in her magic mirror and said:
          "Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
           Who is the fairest one of all?"
To her horror, the mirror replied:
          "You, O Queen, are fair, 'tis true,
           But Snow White is fairer still than you".

The queen trembled with rage as she realized that the hunter had tricked her. She decided that she would seek out Snow White and kill her herself.

The queen disguised herself as an old pedlar woman with a tray of ribbons and pretty things to sell and she set off into the forest. When she came to the dwarfs' cottage she knocked and cried out, "Pretty goods for sale! Pretty goods for sale!"

Snow White came to the door and looked eagerly at the tray. The queen noticed that she was attracted by some lacing ribbons and asked if Snow White would like to try one on. Snow White nodded, so the queen threaded a ribbon through her bodice. Then she tugged the lacing so tight that Snow White could not breathe and fell to the ground. The queen hurried back to the palace sure that this time Snow White was truly dead.

When the dwarfs returned that evening, they found Snow White lying on the floor, deathly cold and still. They gathered around her in dismay. Then they noticed that she had a new lacing on her dress which had been tied too tightly. Quickly they cut it open and Snow White started breathing again.

All seven dwarfs gave a tremendous sigh of relief as by now they loved Snow White dearly. She told them what had happened. The dwarfs suspected that the old pedlar woman was Snow White's wicked stepmother and that she would try to harm Snow White again if she ever found out that she was still alive. They begged her not to allow anyone into the cottage while she was alone and told her not to buy anything from strangers.