Not very long after she had a daughter, with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony, and she was named Snow-white. When she was born, the Queen died. And the king was forced to cut off her head and burn her brain to ensure that she did not rise as one of the undead.
After a year had gone by the King took another wife, a beautiful woman, but proud and overbearing, and she could not bear to be surpassed in beauty by anyone. She had a magic looking glass, and she used to stand before it, and look in it, and say,
“Looking glass upon the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?”
And the looking glass would answer,
“You are the fairest of them all.”
And she was contented, for she knew that the looking glass told the truth.
Now, Snow-white was growing prettier and prettier, and when she was seven years old she was as beautiful as the day, and far more so than the Queen herself. So one day, when the Queen went to the mirror and said,
“Looking glass upon the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?”
It answered,
“Queen, you are full fair, ‘tis true,
But Snow-white fairer is than you.”
This gave the Queen a great shock, and she became yellow and green with envy, and from that hour her heart turned against Snow-white, and she hated her. And envy and pride like ill weeds grew in her heart every day, until she had no peace day or night. At last she sent for a zombie hunter, and said, “Take the child into the woods so that I may set eyes on her no more. You must put her to death and bring me her brain as a token so that I may see it destroyed.”
The zombie hunter consented, and lead her away; but when he drew his cutlass to remove her head, she began to weep and to say, “Oh, dear zombie hunter, do not take my life; I will go away into the wild wood and never come home again.”
And as she was so lovely the zombie hunter had pity on her, and said, “Away with you then, poor child”; for he thought that the zombies within the wood would quickly catch her and rend her limb from limb, and it was as if a stone had been rolled away from his heart when he did not put her to death. Just at that moment, a zombie passed by, so he caught it and cracked open its rotting skull to remove it’s brain, he brought it to the Queen for a token. And she gripped the bloody mass in her hands, and the wicked woman ate it whole as the blood dripped between her fingers, thinking that was the end of Snow-white.
Now when the poor child found herself quite alone in the wild woods, she felt full of terror, even of the very leaves on the trees as the wood was full of voracious zombies hungry for the brains of a young girl, and she did not know what to do for fright. Then she began to run over the sharp stones and through the thorn bushes and the zombies ran after her, but they could not catch her. She ran as long as her feet would carry her; and when the evening drew near she came to a little house, and she went inside to rest. Everything there was very small, but as pretty as possible. There stood the little table ready laid and covered with a white cloth, and seven little plates, and seven little knives and forks, and drinking cups. By the wall stood seven little beds, side by side, with white quilts covered with a thin layer of dust as though they had not been slept in for ages. Snow-white, being very hungry and thirsty, ate from each plate a little of the dark red meat, and drank out of each cup a drop of wine, which was thick and salty like no wine she had ever tasted. After that, she felt so tired that she lay down on one of the beds, but it did not seem to suit her, one was too long, another too short, one slightly stained as though someone had spilled upon it drops of the strange wine; but at last the seventh was quite right and was not soiled by wine or dust; and so she lay down upon it, committed herself to Heaven, and fell asleep.
When it was quite dark, the masters of the house came shuffling home. They were seven zombies, whose previous occupation had been to dig underground among the mountains, but who now occupied their time by devouring the flesh of travelers who wandered lost in the nearby woods and mountains. When they entered their home, the strange sense drove them led them to understand that someone must have been in, as everything was not in the same order in which they left it.
The first sniffed about the chairs at the tiny table.
The second and third ran their hands through the raw meat on the little plates.
The fourth and fifth licked the blood from the rims of the cups.
The sixth, looking round, saw a hollow in his long abandoned bed and let out a long suffering groan which summoned over the other zombies. When the others saw their own abandoned beds they matched the cries of the sixth zombie.
But when the seventh zombie looked at his bed, he saw little Snow-white lying there asleep. He grunted to the others, and crept towards the sleeping figure determined to be the first to tear into her warm and tender flesh. However when they saw her face, their eyes flashed life and joy for the first time since their deaths generations before and they did not wake her, but let her sleep on. And the seventh zombie wandered the night with his comrades, feeding off of lost travelers, until the night had passed.
When it was morning, and Snow-white awoke and saw the seven zombies, she was very frightened; but they seemed quite friendly and they listened to her as she talked. She related to them how her step-mother had wished her to be put to death, and how the zombie hunter had spared her life, and how she had run the whole day long until at last she had found their little house.
Then the zombies moaned mournfully and Snow-white felt that they were asking her to stay with them and she took it upon herself to keep house for them, to clean up when they dragged bloody corpses through the tiny home, and make the beds, and sew and knit, and keep everything tidy; and they kept her safe from the other creatures wandering the dark forest.
In the morning, the zombies went to the mountain as they always did and returned in the evening when Snow-white would dismember the recently killed humans so that the zombies could eat their supper. All day long, the maiden was left alone and the good little zombies conveyed to her that she should beware of her step-mother and to let no one into the house.
Now the Queen, having eaten Snow-white’s brain, as she supposed, felt quite sure that now she was the first and fairest and so she came to her mirror and said,
“Looking glass upon the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?”
And the glass answered,
“Queen, thou art still of beauty rare,
But Snow-white living in the glen
With seven dead and little men
Is a thousand times more fair.”
Then she was very angry, for the glass always spoke the truth, and she knew that the zombie hunter must have deceived her, and that Snow-white must have still been living. And she thought and thought of how she could manage to make an end of her, for as long as she was not the fairest in the land, envy left her no rest. At last she thought of a plan; she painted her face and dressed herself like an old peddler woman, so that no one would have known her. In this disguise she went across the seven mountains, avoiding zombies along the way, until she came to the house of the seven zombies, and she knocked at the door and cried, “Save me! Save me! For the zombies are at my heels!”
Snow-white peeped out of the window and cried, “Good Lady, be still. I will let you enter and save you.”
“Thank you,” answered she, “I will make you a present of these laces”, and she held up a piece that was woven of variegated silk.
“I need not be afraid of letting this in this good woman”, thought Snow-white, and she unbarred the door and accepted the pretty lace.
“What a figure you are child!” said the old woman, “come and let me lace you properly for once.”
Snow-white suspecting nothing, stood up before her and let her lace her with the new lace; but the old woman laced so quickly and tightly that it took Snow-white’s breath away, and she fell down as dead.
“Now you have done with being the fairest,” said the old woman as she hastened away.
Not long after that, towards evening, the seven zombies came home and saw their dear Snow-white lying on the ground without life or motion; they raised her up- preparing to feast upon her still warm skin, but the girl’s lacings prevented the ravenous zombies acess to the soft warm innards they enjoyed and they ripped the laces in two; then she began to draw breath and slowly returned to life. The zombies, seeing Snow-white revived, resolved not to eat her as they had become quite fond of her presence among them. When Snow-white recounted the tale of what had happened, she was shocked to realize that the old peddler woman was none other than the wicked queen and the seven deadened pairs of zombie eyes seemed to agree. Snow-white promised herself to be more careful in the future.
And when the wicked woman got home she went to her glass and said,
“Looking glass upon the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?”
And it answered as before,
“Queen, thou art still of beauty rare,
But Snow-white living in the glen
With seven dead and little men
Is a thousand times more fair.”
When she heard that, she was so struck with surprise that all the blood left her heart, for she knew that Snow-white must still be living.
“But now,” said she, “I will think of something that will be her ruin.” And by witchcraft she made a poisoned comb. Then dressed herself up to look like a young girl. So she went across the seven mountains and came to the house of the seven zombies, and knocked at the door and cried, “Save me! Save me! For the zombies are at my heels!”
Snow-white looked out and said, “Go away, I must not let anybody in.”
“But please, Lady! Look!” said the young girl, taking the bloody stump of her ruined arm and holding it up. “If you do not let me in, I shall surely perish.” And so Snow-white was persuaded to open the door, and after she tended the young girl’s wounds, the girl produced the poison comb and said, “Now, for once, your hair shall be properly combed.”
Poor Snow-white, thinking no harm, let the young girl do as she would, but no sooner was the comb put in her hair than the poison began to work, and poor Snow-white fell down senseless.
“Now, you paragon of beauty,” the wicked woman said in the voice of the little girl, “this is the end of you,” and went off. By good luck it was now near evening, and the seven little zombies came home. When they saw Snow-white lying on the ground as dead they moved directly to eat her, and as the first zombie grabbed her hair in order to bite the smooth skin of her neck, out fell the poisoned comb. No sooner had the comb been drawn out than Snow-white came to herself, and related all that had passed. Again Snow-white realized that the young girl had been the wicked queen in disguise and she vowed never again to let anyone in at the door.
And the Queen went home and stood before the looking-glass and said,
“Looking glass upon the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?”
And the looking-glass answered as before,
“Queen, thou art still of beauty rare,
But Snow-white living in the glen
With seven dead and 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 anyone who would see it must long for it, but whoever ate even a little bit of it must fall under the curse of the walking dead. When the apple was ready she painted her face and clothed herself like a peasant woman, and went across the seven mountains to the home of the zombies. And when she knocked on the door and cried, “Save me! Save me! For the zombies are at my heels”, Snow-white would not open the door.
“All right” answered the woman, “but please, spare me a drink of water so that I may run on! I will give you this apple in return for your kindness.”
Snow-white was wary of the woman, but could not let her continue on without at least offering a drink of water. When she returned with the cup, the woman said to her, “I see you are afraid of poison. Look here, I will cut the apple in two pieces; you shall have the red side, and 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 a piece of 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, “As white as snow, as red as blood, as black as ebony! This time the zombies will not be able to bring you back to life again.”
And when she went home and asked the looking-glass,
“Looking glass upon the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?”
At last it answered,
“You are the fairest now of all.”
Then her envious heart has peace, as much as an envious heart can have.
The zombie, when they came home in the evening, found Snow-white lying on the ground , and there came no breath out of her mouth, and she smelled as one of the undead. They lifted her up , sought if anything poisonous was to be found, cut her laces, combed her hair, washed her face with water and wine, but all was to no avail, the poor child seemed as dead, and would remain as dead. And they made a coffin of clear glass, so as to be looked into from all sides, and they laid her in it, and wrote her name upon it in gold letters, and that she was a King’s daughter. They laid her coffin on a bier, and sat all seven of them round it. And the birds came too and mourned for Snow-white, first an owl, then a raven, and lastly, a dove.
And when they would have buried her, hoping she would rise as the undead, a King’s son rode through the wood and up the zombie’s house which was near it. He had seen upon the mountain the coffin and beautiful Snow-white within it and read what was written in gold letters upon it. Then he said to the zombies, “Let me have the coffin and I will give you whatever you like in return.”
But the zombies had waited for days beside the coffin and were overcome by blood lust and attacked the prince and his men and would not part with the coffin for all the gold in the world. But again he pleaded with the attacking zombies, “I beseech you to give it to me, for I cannot live without looking upon Snow-white; if you consent I will provide you with fresh meat to devour and care for you as if you were my brethren.”
When he spoke so well in the face of certain death, the little zombies took pity upon him and gave him the coffin, and the King’s son, and those servants not devoured by the zombies, carried the coffin away on their shoulders. Now it happened that as they were going along they stumbled over a bush, and with the shaking the bit of poisoned apple flew out of her throat. And because Snow-white never swallowed the poison of the apple, it was not long before she opened her eyes, threw up the cover of the coffin, and sat up, completely alive and well.
“Oh dear! Where am I?” cried she.
The King’s son answered, full of joy. “You are with me”, and relating all that had happened he said, “I would rather have you with me than anything in the world; come with me to my father’s castle and you shall be my bride.”
And Snow-white was kind, and went with him, and their wedding was held with much pomp and great splendor.
But Snow-white’s wicked step mother was also bidden to the feast, and when she had dressed herself in beautiful clothes, she went to the looking-glass and said,
“Looking glass upon the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?”
The looking-glass answered,
“O, Queen, although you are of beauty rare,
The young bride is a thousand times more fair.”
Then she raged and cursed and was beside herself with disappointment and anger. First she thought she would not go to the wedding; but then she felt she should have no peace until she went and saw the bride. And when she saw her, she knew her for Snow-white, and could not stir from her seat for anger and terror. When the zombies, who had come to the wedding as honored guests, saw the wicked queen, they knew her for what she was, and immediately set upon her, tearing her limb from limb. And the prince and his bride lived happily ever after.
The End
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