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| Charlize Theron |
By Brothers Grimm
Translated by Margaret Hunt
Once upon a time in the middle of winter,
when the flakes of snow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen sat at
a window sewing, and the frame of the window was made of black ebony. And
whilst she was sewing and looking out of the window at the snow, she pricked
her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell upon the snow. And
the red looked pretty upon the white snow, and she thought to herself, “Would
that I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood
of the window-frame.”
Soon after that she had a little daughter,
who was as white as snow, and as red as blood, and her hair was as black as
ebony; and she was therefore called Little Snow-white. And when the child was
born, the Queen died.
After a year had passed the King took to
himself another wife. She was a beautiful woman, but proud and haughty, and she
could not bear that anyone else should surpass her in beauty. She had a
wonderful looking-glass, and when she stood in front of it and looked at
herself in it, and said —-
“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the
wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
the looking-glass answered —-
“Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all!”
Then she was satisfied, for she knew that
the looking-glass spoke the truth.
But Snow-white was growing up, and grew
more and more beautiful; and when she was seven years old she was as beautiful
as the day, and more beautiful than the Queen herself. And once when the Queen
asked her looking-glass —
“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the
wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
it answered —-
“Thou art fairer than all who are here,
Lady Queen.” But more beautiful still is Snow-white, as I ween.”
Then the Queen was shocked, and turned
yellow and green with envy. From that hour, whenever she looked at Snow-white,
her heart heaved in her breast, she hated the girl so much.
And envy and pride grew higher and higher
in her heart like a weed, so that she had no peace day or night. She called a
huntsman, and said, “Take the child away into the forest; I will no longer have
her in my sight. Kill her, and bring me back her heart as a token.” The
huntsman obeyed, and took her away; but when he had drawn his knife, and was
about to pierce Snow-white’s innocent heart, she began to weep, and said, “Ah
dear huntsman, leave me my life! I will run away into the wild forest, and
never come home again.”
And as she was so beautiful the huntsman
had pity on her and said, “Run away, then, you poor child.” “The wild beasts
will soon have devoured you,” thought he, and yet it seemed as if a stone had
been rolled from his heart since it was no longer needful for him to kill her.
And as a young boar just then came running by he stabbed it, and cut out its
heart and took it to the Queen as proof that the child was dead. The cook had
to salt this, and the wicked Queen ate it, and thought she had eaten the heart
of Snow-white.
But now the poor child was all alone in
the great forest, and so terrified that she looked at every leaf of every tree,
and did not know what to do. Then she began to run, and ran over sharp stones
and through thorns, and the wild beasts ran past her, but did her no harm.
She ran as long as her feet would go until
it was almost evening; then she saw a little cottage and went into it to rest
herself. Everything in the cottage was small, but neater and cleaner than can
be told. There was a table on which was a white cover, and seven little plates,
and on each plate a little spoon; moreover, there were seven little knives and
forks, and seven little mugs. Against the wall stood seven little beds side by
side, and covered with snow-white counterpanes.
Little Snow-white was so hungry and
thirsty that she ate some vegetables and bread from each plate and drank a drop
of wine out of each mug, for she did not wish to take all from one only. Then,
as she was so tired, she laid herself down on one of the little beds, but none
of them suited her; one was too long, another too short, but at last she found
that the seventh one was right, and so she remained in it, said a prayer and
went to sleep.
When it was quite dark the owners of the
cottage came back; they were seven dwarfs who dug and delved in the mountains
for ore. They lit their seven candles, and as it was now light within the
cottage they saw that someone had been there, for everything was not in the
same order in which they had left it.
The first said, “Who has been sitting on
my chair?”
The second, “Who has been eating off my
plate?”
The third, “Who has been taking some of my
bread?”
The fourth, “Who has been eating my
vegetables?”
The fifth, “Who has been using my fork?”
The sixth, “Who has been cutting with my
knife?”
The seventh, “Who has been drinking out of
my mug?”
Then the first looked round and saw that
there was a little hole on his bed, and he said, “Who has been getting into my
bed?” The others came up and each called out, “Somebody has been lying in my
bed too.” But the seventh when he looked at his bed saw little Snow-white, who
was lying asleep therein. And he called the others, who came running up, and
they cried out with astonishment, and brought their seven little candles and
let the light fall on little Snow-white. “Oh, heavens! oh, heavens!” cried
they, “what a lovely child!” and they were so glad that they did not wake her
up, but let her sleep on in the bed. And the seventh dwarf slept with his
companions, one hour with each, and so got through the night.
When it was morning little Snow-white
awoke, and was frightened when she saw the seven dwarfs. But they were friendly
and asked her what her name was. “My name is Snow-white,” she answered. “How
have you come to our house?” said the dwarfs. Then she told them that her
step-mother had wished to have her killed, but that the huntsman had spared her
life, and that she had run for the whole day, until at last she had found their
dwelling. The dwarfs said, “If you will take care of our house, cook, make the
beds, wash, sew, and knit, and if you will keep everything neat and clean, you
can stay with us and you shall want for nothing.” “Yes,” said Snow-white, “with
all my heart,” and she stayed with them. She kept the house in order for them;
in the mornings they went to the mountains and looked for copper and gold, in
the evenings they came back, and then their supper had to be ready. The girl
was alone the whole day, so the good dwarfs warned her and said, “Beware of
your step-mother, she will soon know that you are here; be sure to let no one
come in.”
But the Queen, believing that she had
eaten Snow-white’s heart, could not but think that she was again the first and
most beautiful of all; and she went to her looking-glass and said —-
“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the
wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
and the glass answered —
“Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,
But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, Snow-white is still alive and
well,
And none is so fair as she.”
Then she was astounded, for she knew that
the looking-glass never spoke falsely, and she knew that the huntsman had
betrayed her, and that little Snow-white was still alive.
And so she thought and thought again how
she might kill her, for so long as she was not the fairest in the whole land,
envy let her have no rest. And when she had at last thought of something to do,
she painted her face, and dressed herself like an old pedler-woman, and no one
could have known her. In this disguise she went over the seven mountains to the
seven dwarfs, and knocked at the door and cried, “Pretty things to sell, very
cheap, very cheap.” Little Snow-white looked out of the window and called out,
“Good-day my good woman, what have you to sell?” “Good things, pretty things,”
she answered; “stay-laces of all colours,” and she pulled out one which was
woven of bright-coloured silk. “I may let the worthy old woman in,” thought
Snow-white, and she unbolted the door and bought the pretty laces. “Child,”
said the old woman, “what a fright you look; come, I will lace you properly for
once.” Snow-white had no suspicion, but stood before her, and let herself be
laced with the new laces. But the old woman laced so quickly and so tightly
that Snow-white lost her breath and fell down as if dead. “Now I am the most
beautiful,” said the Queen to herself, and ran away.
Not long afterwards, in the evening, the
seven dwarfs came home, but how shocked they were when they saw their dear
little Snow-white lying on the ground, and that she neither stirred nor moved,
and seemed to be dead. They lifted her up, and, as they saw that she was laced
too tightly, they cut the laces; then she began to breathe a little, and after
a while came to life again. When the dwarfs heard what had happened they said,
“The old pedler-woman was no one else than the wicked Queen; take care and let
no one come in when we are not with you.”
But the wicked woman when she had reached
home went in front of the glass and asked —-
“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the
wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
and it answered as before —-
“Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,
But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, Snow-white is still alive and
well,
And none is so fair as she.”
When she heard that, all her blood rushed
to her heart with fear, for she saw plainly that little Snow-white was again
alive. “But now,” she said, “I will think of something that shall put an end to
you,” and by the help of witchcraft, which she understood, she made a poisonous
comb. Then she disguised herself and took the shape of another old woman. So
she went over the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs, knocked at the door, and
cried, “Good things to sell, cheap, cheap!” Little Snow-white looked out and
said, “Go away; I cannot let any one come in.” “I suppose you can look,” said
the old woman, and pulled the poisonous comb out and held it up. It pleased the
girl so well that she let herself be beguiled, and opened the door. When they
had made a bargain the old woman said, “Now I will comb you properly for once.”
Poor little Snow-white had no suspicion, and let the old woman do as she
pleased, but hardly had she put the comb in her hair than the poison in it took
effect, and the girl fell down senseless. “You paragon of beauty,” said the
wicked woman, “you are done for now,” and she went away.
But fortunately it was almost evening,
when the seven dwarfs came home. When they saw Snow-white lying as if dead upon
the ground they at once suspected the step-mother, and they looked and found
the poisoned comb. Scarcely had they taken it out when Snow-white came to
herself, and told them what had happened. Then they warned her once more to be
upon her guard and to open the door to no one.
The Queen, at home, went in front of the
glass and said —-
“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the
wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
then it answered as before —-
“Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,
But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, Snow-white is still alive and
well,
And none is so fair as she.”
When she heard the glass speak thus she
trembled and shook with rage. “Snow-white shall die,” she cried, “even if it
costs me my life!”
Thereupon she went into a quite secret,
lonely room, where no one ever came, and there she made a very poisonous apple.
Outside it looked pretty, white with a red cheek, so that everyone who saw it
longed for it; but whoever ate a piece of it must surely die.
When the apple was ready she painted her
face, and dressed herself up as a country-woman, and so she went over the seven
mountains to the seven dwarfs. She knocked at the door. Snow-white put her head
out of the window and said, “I cannot let any one in; the seven dwarfs have
forbidden me.” “It is all the same to me,” answered the woman, “I shall soon
get rid of my apples. There, I will give you one.”
“No,” said Snow-white, “I dare not take
anything.” “Are you afraid of poison?” said the old woman; “look, I will cut
the apple in two pieces; you eat the red cheek, and I will eat the white.” The
apple was so cunningly made that only the red cheek was poisoned. Snow-white
longed for the fine apple, and when she saw that the woman ate part of it she
could resist no longer, and stretched out her hand and took the poisonous half.
But hardly had she a bit of it in her mouth than she fell down dead. Then the
Queen looked at her with a dreadful look, and laughed aloud and said, “White as
snow, red as blood, black as ebony-wood! this time the dwarfs cannot wake you
up again.”
And when she asked of the Looking-glass at
home —-
“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the
wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
it answered at last —
“Oh, Queen, in this land thou art fairest
of all.”
Then her envious heart had rest, so far as
an envious heart can have rest.
The dwarfs, when they came home in the
evening, found Snow-white lying upon the ground; she breathed no longer and was
dead. They lifted her up, looked to see whether they could find anything
poisonous, unlaced her, combed her hair, washed her with water and wine, but it
was all of no use; the poor child was dead, and remained dead. They laid her
upon a bier, and all seven of them sat round it and wept for her, and wept
three days long.
Then they were going to bury her, but she
still looked as if she were living, and still had her pretty red cheeks. They
said, “We could not bury her in the dark ground,” and they had a transparent coffin
of glass made, so that she could be seen from all sides, and they laid her in
it, and wrote her name upon it in golden letters, and that she was a king’s
daughter. Then they put the coffin out upon the mountain, and one of them
always stayed by it and watched it. And birds came too, and wept for
Snow-white; first an owl, then a raven, and last a dove.
And now Snow-white lay a long, long time
in the coffin, and she did not change, but looked as if she were asleep; for
she was as white as snow, as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony.
It happened, however, that a king’s son
came into the forest, and went to the dwarfs’ house to spend the night. He saw
the coffin on the mountain, and the beautiful Snow-white within it, and read
what was written upon it in golden letters. Then he said to the dwarfs, “Let me
have the coffin, I will give you whatever you want for it.” But the dwarfs
answered, “We will not part with it for all the gold in the world.” Then he
said, “Let me have it as a gift, for I cannot live without seeing Snow-white. I
will honour and prize her as my dearest possession.” As he spoke in this way
the good dwarfs took pity upon him, and gave him the coffin.
And now the King’s son had it carried away
by his servants on their shoulders. And it happened that they stumbled over a
tree-stump, and with the shock the poisonous piece of apple which Snow-white
had bitten off came out of her throat. And before long she opened her eyes,
lifted up the lid of the coffin, sat up, and was once more alive. “Oh, heavens,
where am I?” she cried. The King’s son, full of joy, said, “You are with me,”
and told her what had happened, and said, “I love you more than everything in
the world; come with me to my father’s palace, you shall be my wife.”
And Snow-white was willing, and went with
him, and their wedding was held with great show and splendour. But Snow-white’s
wicked step-mother was also bidden to the feast. When she had arrayed herself
in beautiful clothes she went before the Looking-glass, and said —-
“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the
wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?”
the glass answered —-
“Oh, Queen, of all here the fairest art
thou, But the young Queen is fairer by far as I trow.”
Then the wicked woman uttered a curse, and
was so wretched, so utterly wretched, that she knew not what to do. At first
she would not go to the wedding at all, but she had no peace, and must go to
see the young Queen. And when she went in she knew Snow-white; and she stood
still with rage and fear, and could not stir. But iron slippers had already
been put upon the fire, and they were brought in with tongs, and set before
her. Then she was forced to put on the red-hot shoes, and dance until she
dropped down dead.
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