Once upon a time, on a cold winter's day, a queen sat by the window of her castle.

She sat and made clothes for her baby. She wanted to have a little girl.

Sometimes she looked out of the window.

Outside, the snow fell, and it was very cold.

Suddenly, she pricked her finger with her needle, and three drops of red blood fell from it.

'Red is a beautiful color', she thought.

Then she looked at the dark black wood of the trees outside and at the white snow.

'My little girl will be very beautiful,' thought the Queen. 'She will have skin as white as snow, hair as black as those trees and cheeks as red as blood.

Soon the Queen had her baby, a little daughter.

And the little girl had skin as white as snow , hair as black as tree in winter and cheeks as red as blood.

'Oh, dear little child,' said the Queen,'you are very beautiful! I will call you Snow White.'

She loved the little girl very much.

But when Snow White was only two years old, a very sad thing happened.

The Queen was very ill and she died.

After a few years, Snow White's father, the King, married again. His new queen was beautiful, but she was also nasty and unkind.

She thought that she was the most beautiful woman in the country.

'And I will always be the most beautiful woman in the country!'

She said.

The new queen looked at Snow White.

She saw that the little girl was very beautiful, and she was jealous.

She saw the light in Snow White's eyes and she wanted to kill her.

The new queen had a magic mirror.

Every day she stood in  front of it and asked:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,

Who is the most beautiful of all?'

The mirror always answered:

You are, Queen.'

But one day, when she asked this question, the mirror answered:

Of all the women who stand tall,

You, Queen, are the most beautiful of all.

But listen now, for this is true:

Snow White is more beautiful than you.'

The Queen was very angry.

'When I see Snow White, I am ill! She said.

'She must die. I never want to see her face again.'

She gave some money to a huntsman and said to him,

'Take Snow White into the forest and kill her. Do this or you will die. Go! Be quick! Bring me back her heart. Then I will know that she is dead.

The huntsman did not want do it, but he was afraid.

So he took Snow White and together they walked for into the forest.

He put his hand on his hand on his knife three times.

But each time Snow White turned and looked at him, and he could not kill her.

At last, the huntsman said,'Listen, Snow White. The Queen said that I must kill you. But I can't do it. Run, Snow White! Run far away into the forest.

And do not came back to the castle.'

Then the huntsman killed a deer and took its heart.

'I will take this deer's heart back to the Queen,' he thought.

'And I will tell her that Snow White is dead.'

Snow White was alone and lost.

She ran through the forest. She ran all day. Now it was late and she was afraid.

The forest was full of strange noises. She knew that there were wild animals there, but they did not come near her.

At last, Snow White came out of the forest. She saw a mountain, and at the foot of the mountain she saw a little house.

'I'll go and knock on the door,' she thought.

'Then perhaps a kind person will help me.'

'Hello! she called. But there was no answer

It was almost dark now, so she opened the door.

Inside, the furniture was very small, and there was seven of everything: seven little chairs and seven little beds. There were seven little cups on the table, and seven plates of food.

'Perhaps seven little children live here,'

thought Snow White.'But where are they?'

Snow White was very hungry, but she didn't want to take someone's dinner.  So she ate a little from each plate, and she drank a little from each cup.  Then she went upstairs and fell asleep on three of the little beds.

The house belonged to seven dwarfs. Every day the dwarf went to the mountain and looked for gold.

The Queen did not speak to her magic mirror for a long time.

But one day, she stood in front of it and asked:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,

Who is the most beautiful of all?'

And the mirror answered: