Chapter 3

　　The next morning, the dwarves left for work.

　　Take good care of our house, Snow White.

　　We will be home at sundown.

　　I will cook a roast with potatoes for dinner.

　　And your clothes will be all clean. Good bye.

　　As soon as the dwarves were gone, the queen walked to the door and knocked. Snow White answered the door. She did not recognize the queen. She only saw a young girl.

　　(girl’s voice) Good morning, ma’am. I am selling fine combs for pretty ladies. Do you want to buy one?

　　I’m sorry, but I don’t need a comb.

　　Oh please, ma’am. Please try my combs. They are very strong. Your hair is so thick and beautiful. You should have a good comb.

　　Alright, I’ll try one.

　　Snow White took the queen’s comb and began to comb her hair. When the comb touched her head, her hair began to move. Her hair wrapped around her neck and began to tighten. Snow White couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t even call for help.

　　Die, Snow White! Now I will be the fairest.

　　The queen laughed and laughed. Then she went back to the castle.

　　Luckily, one of the dwarves forgot his lunch. He ran back to the house to get it. When he got there, he saw Snow White with the comb in her hair. Her hair was wrapping tighter and tighter around her neck. The dwarf grabbed the comb and threw it to the ground. The comb broke into pieces.

　　The spell was broken, and Snow White could breathe again.

　　Snow White! Snow White! What happened?

　　A girl was selling combs. I tried one, and my hair wrapped around my neck. The girl ran away, but I heard her laugh. It was the queen’s laugh. The girl was the queen in disguise.

　　The queen found you here. You are in great danger, Snow White. From now on, you must never take anything from a stranger. And never let any strangers into the house. We will keep you safe, but we must be very careful.

　　The queen returned to the castle, she went to her magic mirror.

　　Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?

　　Snow White is the fairest, my queen. She is still alive in the forest. One of the dwarves saved her life.

　　No, no, no! I can’t use another comb. Snow White will know that it is a trick. I must make her trust me. But how? Ah-ha! I know what to do.

　　The queen made another magic potion and drank it. Now she looked like a very old woman. Then she took an apple. Half of the apple was green, and half of the apple was red. She did the red half of the apple into a powerful poison.

　　Snow White will eat this poisoned apple and she will die. Then I will be the fairest in the land.

　　The next morning, the dwarves left for work.

　　Remember, Snow White, don’t let any strangers into the house. It might be the queen in disguise. And don’t take anything from strangers. It might be another trick.

　　I will remember. I’ll be very careful.

　　That afternoon, there was a knock at the door.

　　Snow White went to the window to see who it was. She saw an old woman with a basket of apples. She did not know it was the queen again.

　　(old woman’s voice) Hello, young lady. I am selling apples. Do you want to buy some nice fresh apples?

　　I’m sorry. But I’m not allowed to take anything from strangers.

　　You are a good girl. I’ll give you half an apple for free. I’ll eat the other half. Then you will know it is safe.

　　The old woman cut the apple in half. She ate the good half and gave the poisoned half to Snow White. Snow White thought it was safe, so she ate her half. After one bite, she fell down to the floor.

　　The queen laughed and laughed.

　　Now I am the fairest. Good bye, Snow White. Good bye forever.

　　That night, the seven dwarves came home. They found Snow White and the poisoned apple on the floor.

　　Oh no! Snow White, wake up! Wake up!

　　Is she dead?

　　I don’t know. She is not breathing. But her skin is still warm, and her cheeks are still red.

　　The queen did this. The apple was poisoned. What will we do?

　　Let’s make a glass coffin for her. We will put it on the hill. There we can watch her.

　　We can take turns watching her each day. If she wakes up, we will see it.

　　The dwarves built a glass coffin for Snow White, and put it on a hill near their house.

　　Form that day on, only six of the dwarves went to dig for gold and jewels in the hills. One dwarf stood guard by Snow White’s coffin every day. A long time passed, and Snow White never moved.