Brick Fairy Tales: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel, and More (17 page)

And once when the Queen asked her looking-glass—

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall, Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

it answered—

“Thou art fairer than all who are here, Lady Queen.” But more beautiful still is Snow-white, as I ween.”

Then the Queen was shocked, and turned yellow and green with envy. From that hour, whenever she looked at Snow-white, her heart heaved in her breast, she hated the girl so much.

And envy and pride grew higher and higher in her heart like a weed, so that she had no peace day or night. She called a huntsman, and said, “Take the child away into the forest; I will no longer have her in my sight. Kill her, and bring me back her heart as a token.”

The huntsman obeyed, and took her away; but when he had drawn his knife, and was about to pierce Snow-white’s innocent heart,

she began to weep, and said, “Ah dear huntsman, leave me my life! I will run away into the wild forest, and never come home again.”

And as she was so beautiful the huntsman had pity on her and said, “Run away, then, you poor child.”

“The wild beasts will soon have devoured you,” thought he,

and yet it seemed as if a stone had been rolled from his heart since it was no longer needful for him to kill her.

And as a young boar just then came running by he stabbed it, and cut out its heart

and took it to the Queen as proof that the child was dead.

The cook had to salt this,

and the wicked Queen ate it, and thought she had eaten the heart of Snow-white.