comb put in her hair than the poison began to
work, and the poor girl fell down senseless.

"Now, you paragon of beauty," said the wicked woman, "this is the end of
you," and went off. By good luck it was now near evening, and the seven
little dwarfs came home. When they saw Snow-white lying on the ground as
dead, they thought directly that it was the step-mother's doing, and
looked about, found the poisoned comb, and no sooner had they drawn it
out of her hair than Snow-white came to herself, and related all that
had passed. Then they warned her once more to be on her guard, and never
again to let any one in at the door.

And the queen went home and stood before the looking-glass and said,

"Looking-glass against the wall,
Who is fairest of us all?"

And the looking-glass answered as before,

"Queen, thou art of beauty rare,
But Snow-white living in the glen
With the seven little men
Is a thousand times more fair."

When she heard the looking-glass speak thus she trembled and shook with
anger.

"Snow-white shall die," cried she, "though it should cost me my own
life!" And then she went to a secret lonely chamber, where no one was
likely to come, and there she made a poisonous apple. It was beautiful
to look upon, being white with red cheeks, so that any one who should
see it must long for it, but whoever ate even a little bit of it must
die. When the apple was ready she painted her face and clothed herself
like a peasant woman, and went across the seven mountains to where the
seven dwarfs lived. And when she knocked at the door Snow-white put her
head out of the window and said,

"I dare not let anybody in; the seven dwarfs told me not."

"All right," answered the woman; "I can easily get rid of my apples
elsewhere. There, I will give you one."

"No," answered Snow-white, "I dare not take anything."

"Are you afraid of poison?" said the woman, "look here, I will cut the
apple in two pieces; you shall have the red side, I will have the white
one."

For the apple was so cunningly made, that all the poison was in the rosy
half of it. Snow-white longed for the beautiful apple, and as she saw
the peasant woman eating a piece of it she could no longer refrain, but
stretched out her hand and took the poisoned half. But no sooner had she
taken a morsel of it into her mouth than she fell to the earth as dead.
And the queen, casting on her a terrible glance, laughed aloud and
cried,

"