longer, but stretched out
her hand and took the poisoned half. She had scarcely tasted it when
she fell lifeless to the ground.

The queen, laughing loudly, watched her with a barbarous look, and
cried: "Oh, thou who art white as snow, red as blood, and black as
ebony, the seven dwarfs cannot awaken thee this time!"

And when she asked the mirror at home,

"Little glass upon the wall,
Who is fairest among us all?"

the mirror at last replied,

"Lady queen, so grand and tall.
You are the fairest of them all."

So her envious heart had as much repose as an envious heart can ever
know.

When the dwarfs came home in the evening they found Snowdrop lying
breathless and motionless on the ground. They lifted her up, searched
whether she had anything poisonous about her, unlaced her, combed her
hair, washed her with water and with wine; but all was useless, for
they could not bring the darling back to life. They laid her on a
bier, and all the seven placed themselves round it, and mourned for
her three long days. Then they would have buried her, but that she
still looked so fresh and lifelike, and had such lovely rosy cheeks.
"We cannot lower her into the dark earth," said they; and caused a
transparent coffin of glass to be made, so that she could be seen on
all sides, and laid her in it, writing her name outside in letters of
gold, which told that she was the daughter of a king. Then they placed
the coffin on the mountain above, and one of them always stayed by it
and guarded it. But there was little need to guard it, for even the
wild animals came and mourned for Snowdrop: the birds likewise--first
an owl, and then a raven, and afterwards a dove.

Long, long years did Snowdrop lay in her coffin unchanged, looking as
though asleep, for she was still white as snow, red as blood, and her
hair was as black as ebony. At last the son of a king chanced to
wander into the forest, and came to the dwarf's house for a night's
shelter. He saw the coffin on the mountain with the beautiful Snowdrop
in it, and read what was written there in letters of gold. Then he
said to the dwarfs, "Let me have the coffin! I will give you whatever
you like to ask for it."

But the dwarfs answered, "We would not part with it for all the gold
in the world."

He said again, "Yet give it me; for I cannot live without seeing
Snowdrop, and though she is dead, I will prize and honor her as my
beloved."

Then the good dwarfs too