| Share page |
|
THE MAGIC MIRROR. |
||
|
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 art lovely still to sec, 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 her heart out of her body, she hated the maiden so fiercely.
And this jealousy and envy grew every day in her heart stronger and stronger, like a disease, till she had no rest day or night.
At last she sent for a hunter, who lived near a forest, and said to him, " Hunter, I want to get rid of that child. Take her out into the wood, and if you bring me some proofs that she is dead, I will reward you handsomely. Never let her appear before my eyes again."
So the hunter enticed the child into the wood; but when he took out his hunting-knife to thrust into Snow-white's innocent " heart, she fell on her knees and wept, and said, " Ah, dear hunter, leave me my life, I will run away into the wild wood, and never, never come home any more."
She looked so innocent and beautiful as she knelt, that the hunter s heart was moved with compassion: " Run away, then, thou poor child," he cried, "I cannot harm thee." Snow-white thanked him so sweetly, and was out of sight in a few moments.
" She will be devoured by wild beasts," he said to himself. But the thought that he had not killed her, was as if a stone weight had been lifted from his heart.
To satisfy the queen he took part of the inside of a young fawn, which the wicked woman thought was poor little Snow-white, and was overjoyed to think she was dead.
But the poor little motherless child, when she found herself alone L\ the wood; and saw nothing but trees and leaves, was dreadfully |
||