sters, till one day two poor women came to the castle,
to beg for alms. Little Two Eyes saw them, and, looking earnestly in
their faces, she recognised her two sisters, who had become so poor that
they were obliged to beg their bread from door to door.

But the good sister received them most kindly, and promised to take care
of them and give them all they wanted. And then they did indeed repent
and feel sorry for having treated her so badly in their youthful days.

CHAPTER II

THE MAGIC MIRROR

One day in the middle of winter, when the snowflakes fell from the sky
like feathers, a queen sat at a window netting. Her netting-needle was
of black ebony, and as she worked, and the snow glittered, she pricked
her finger, and three drops of blood fell into the snow. The red spots
looked so beautiful in the white snow that the queen thought to herself:
"Oh, if I only had a little child, I should like it to be as fair as
snow, as rosy as the red blood, and with hair and eyes as black as
ebony."

Very soon after this the queen had a little daughter who was very fair,
had rosy cheeks, and hair as black as ebony; and they gave her the name
of Snow-white. But at the birth of the little child the queen died.

When Snow-white was a year old, the king took another wife. She was very
handsome, but so proud and vain that she could not endure that anyone
should surpass her in beauty. She possessed a wonderful mirror, and when
she stood before it to look at herself she would say:

"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Am I most beautiful of all?"

Then the mirror would reply:

"Young queen, thou are so wondrous fair,
None can with thee at all compare."

Then she would go away quite contented, for she knew the magic mirror
could speak only the truth.

Years went by, and as Snow-white grew up, she became day after day more
beautiful, till she reached the age of seven years, and then people
began to talk about her, and say that she would be more lovely even than
the queen herself. So the proud woman went to her magic looking-glass,
and asked:

"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Am I most beautiful of all?"

But the mirror answered:

"Queen, thou are lovely still to see,
But Snow-white will be
A thousand times more beautiful than thee."

Then the queen was terrified, and turned green and yellow with jealousy.
If she had caught sight of Snow-white at that moment, she would have
been ready to tear he