te was dead at last, and that she was
without a rival in beauty.

When the dwarfs came home that night they found Snowwhite lying upon
the ground quite dead, and could not find out what had happened or
how they could cure her. But, though she seemed dead, Snowwhite kept
her beautiful white skin and seemed more like a statue than a dead
person. So the dwarfs had a glass coffer made, and put Snowwhite in
and locked it up. And she remained there for days and days without
changing the slightest, looking oh, so beautiful under the glass case.

Now a great prince of the neighbouring country happened to be hunting
near the hill of the dwarfs and called at their hut to get a glass of
water. And when he came in he found nobody there but Snowwhite lying
in her crystal coffer. And he fell at once in love with her and sat by
her side till the dwarfs came home, and he asked them who she was.
Then they told him her history, and he begged that he might carry the
coffer away so that he might always have her near him. At first they
would not do so. But he showed how much he loved her, so that they at
last yielded, and he called for his men to carry the coffer home to
his palace.

And when the men commenced carrying the coffer down the mountain they
jolted it so much that the piece of poisoned apple in Snowwhite's
throat fell out, and she revived and opened her eyes and looked upon
the Prince who was riding by her side. Then he ordered the coffer to
be opened, and told her all that had happened. And he took her home to
his castle and married her.

After this happened the Queen once more came to her room and spoke to
the mirror on the wall and said:

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who is the fairest of us all?"

And the mirror this time said again:

"Queen, Queen, on thy throne,
Snowwhite's the fairest thou must own."

And the Queen was so enraged because she had not destroyed Snowwhite
that she rushed to the window and threw herself out of it and died on
the spot.

[Illustration: Snowwhite and the Three Dwarfs]

[Illustration]

INTRODUCTION TO NOTES

Ever since the Brothers Grimm in 1812 made for the first time a fairly
complete collection of the folk-tales of a definite local or national
area in Europe, the resemblance of many of these tales, not alone in
isolated incidents but in continuous plots, has struck inquirers into
these delightful little novels for children, as the Italians call them
(_