e fairest here,
But at the palace, now,
The bride will prove a thousand times
More beautiful than thou."

Then the wicked woman uttered a curse, and was so dreadfully alarmed
that she knew not what to do. At first she declared she would not go to
this wedding at all, but she felt it impossible to rest until she had
seen the bride, so she determined to go. But what was her astonishment
and vexation when she recognised in the young bride Snow-white herself,
now grown a charming young woman, and richly dressed in royal robes! Her
rage and terror were so great that she stood still and could not move
for some minutes. At last she went into the ballroom, but the slippers
she wore were to her as iron bands full of coals of fire, in which she
was obliged to dance. And so in the red, glowing shoes she continued to
dance till she fell dead on the floor, a sad example of envy and
jealousy.

CHAPTER III

THE ENCHANTED STAG

There were once a brother and sister who loved each other dearly; their
mother was dead, and their father had married again a woman who was most
unkind and cruel to them. One day the boy took his sister's hand, and
said to her, "Dear little sister, since our mother died we have not had
one happy hour. Our stepmother gives us dry hard crusts for dinner and
supper; she often knocks us about, and threatens to kick us out of the
house. Even the little dogs under the table fare better than we do, for
she often throws them nice pieces to eat. Heaven pity us! Oh, if our
dear mother knew! Come, let us go out into the wide world!"

So they went out, and wandered over fields and meadows the whole day
till evening. At last they found themselves in a large forest; it began
to rain, and the little sister said, "See, brother, heaven and our
hearts weep together." At last, tired out with hunger and sorrow, and
the long journey, they crept into a hollow tree, laid themselves down,
and slept till morning.

When they awoke the sun was high in the heavens, and shone brightly into
the hollow tree, so they left their place of shelter and wandered away
in search of water.

"Oh, I am so thirsty!" said the boy. "If we could only find a brook or a
stream." He stopped to listen, and said, "Stay, I think I hear a running
stream." So he took his sister by the hand, and they ran together to
find it.

Now, the stepmother of these poor children was a wicked witch. She had
seen the children go away, and, follow