A year later, the king married again. The new queen was beautiful but proud, jealous, and cruel. She owned a magical mirror and asked it every day: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” The mirror always told the truth, and for a while, it reassured the queen that she was the most beautiful. But as Snow White grew older, she became even more beautiful than the queen. One day, when the queen asked the mirror, it replied: “Snow White is now far more beautiful than you.” The queen’s heart turned cold with envy, and from that day forward, she could not bear to look at Snow White.
Consumed by jealousy, the queen ordered a huntsman to take Snow White into the deep forest and kill her. He was told to bring back her heart as proof. When the huntsman saw Snow White’s innocent face, he could not harm her. She begged him: “Please, sir, do not kill me. I will stay in the forest and never return to the castle.” Moved by her plea, the huntsman let her go. To satisfy the queen, he killed a wild boar and brought its heart instead, which the queen ate, believing it belonged to Snow White.
Alone in the forest, Snow White wandered in fear, injuring her feet on thorns and rocks, until she stumbled upon a tiny, charming house. Everything inside was small but neat. There were seven little plates on the table, each with tiny utensils and a small glass, and seven little beds neatly lined up. Exhausted and hungry, Snow White ate a little from each plate and drank from each glass, not wanting to take more than her share. Finally, she found the seventh bed to be just right and fell asleep.
When the seven dwarfs returned home after a day mining in the mountains, they noticed that things were not as they had left them. “Who has been sitting in my chair?” one asked. “Who has been eating from my plate?” “Who is lying in my bed?” Finally, they found Snow White asleep and were amazed at her beauty. They did not wake her but watched over her through the night.
The next morning, Snow White awoke and explained to the dwarfs how the evil queen had tried to kill her, but the huntsman had let her live. The dwarfs offered her a place in their home: if she would care for the house, cook, clean, and sew, she could stay safely with them. Snow White agreed, and from then on, she lived happily with the dwarfs, preparing meals and keeping the house in order while they worked in the mines. They warned her: “Do not let anyone in. The queen will find you, but you must stay safe.”
Meanwhile, the queen believed Snow White was dead. Every day, she asked the mirror, only to hear the truth: “Snow White is still alive, living with the seven dwarfs, and she is more beautiful than you.” Enraged, the queen devised cruel schemes to kill her, disguising herself as old women to trick Snow White. First, she tried a tight lace bodice, then a poisoned comb. Each time, Snow White was saved by the dwarfs.
Finally, the queen made a poisoned apple. Disguised as a peasant woman, she offered it to Snow White. Snow White, unaware of the danger, took a bite and fell into a deathlike sleep. The queen laughed and left, certain that Snow White was gone forever. The dwarfs returned, found Snow White, and placed her in a glass coffin, mourning her deeply but unable to bury her, for her beauty and innocence remained intact.
One day, a prince traveling through the forest came across the dwarfs’ house and saw Snow White in the glass coffin. Moved by her beauty and purity, he begged to take the coffin with him. While transporting it, the piece of poisoned apple dislodged from Snow White’s throat, and she awoke. Overjoyed, the prince declared his love, and Snow White agreed to return with him to his kingdom.
They were married in a grand ceremony. The evil queen was invited, hoping to see the “fairest of them all,” but upon seeing Snow White alive and radiant, she was terrified. The king punished her by forcing her to wear red-hot iron shoes, and she danced until she collapsed and died. Snow White and the prince lived happily ever after, and justice was served.