Title: The X-tales: Snow-white
Author: X_fairy
fairy175@yahoo.comDisclaimer: The X-files belong to CC and Mulder and Scully belong to each other, not to me! I don't who holds copyright for Snow-white, but it isn't me either! No infringement intended!
Rating: Harmless (Well.... as harmless as fairytales are....)
Category: R
Spoilers: None
Archive: Anywhere, with my name and addy, but please let me know!
Feedback: Please! I LOVE e-mail!
Dedicated to Sara and Jackie, who keep me writing.
Summary: You don't know Snow-white???!!!
Author's note: With a special thanks to my German teacher, whose lessons are boring enough to make me think of things like this!
********************
The X-tales: Snow-white
By X_fairy
********************
Once upon a time, in deep winter, a young queen was walking in the snow-covered woods, as she stumbled upon a little fox caught in a hole in the ground. She rescued the poor beast, scratching her hand on a twig in the process, and a few drops of blood fell to the snow. She thought to herself, 'I wish I had child, white like the snow, red like blood, and auburn like this little animal's fur.'
Soon after, she gave birth to a daughter. Her skin was milky white, her lips red like blood, and her hair fiery red like a fox's fur. Her mother named her Dana, but she was only called Snow-white.
Soon after Dana's birth, her mother died.
About a year later, the king married again. Dana's stepmother was a beautiful woman, but she was proud and haughty and wouldn't have it if somebody exceeded her beauty. She owned a wonderful mirror: If she regarded herself in it and said,
"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the fairest of them all?"
the mirror answered,
"My majesty, you're the fairest of them all."
Then she was content, because she knew that the mirror was telling her the truth. But Dana grew up and got more and more beautiful. When she was seven years old, she was as beautiful as a bright day and more beautiful than the queen herself. Once she asked her mirror,
"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the fairest of them all?"
and it answered,
"My majesty, you're the fairest here,
but Snow-white is a thousand times as fair."
This scared the queen, and she went green with envy. From this moment on, she hated Dana like death itself. Envy and arrogance grew quickly in her heart, and wouldn't let her sleep. One day, she called for a hunter and told him, "Take the child out to the woods, I don't want to see her anymore. Kill her and bring me lung and liver as evidence."
The hunter obeyed and took Dana out into the woods. As he was about to kill her, she pleaded, "Oh please, my dear hunter, let me live, I'll out into the woods and never come home again!"
And as she was so beautiful, he was full of sympathy, and said, "Then go, poor child." - The wild beasts may have killed you soon enough, he thought, but was relieved nonetheless that he didn't have to kill her.
And as there came a wild boar running his way, he killed it, took lung and liver and brought them to the queen. The cook had to boil then in salt, and the nasty woman ate them, and thought she had eaten Snow-white's lung and liver.
But poor Dana was all alone in the woods, and she was so frightened, looking at the trees and leaves and not knowing what to do. She started running and ran across stones and thorns, and the wild beasts saw her, but didn't do anything to her. She ran as long as her feet would carry her, until the evening. Then she saw a little hut and went in to rest.
Everything in the house was small, but so delicate and clean that it was impossible to describe. There was a small table, done all in white with seven little plates, every plate with its spoon, knife and fork, and seven glasses. At the wall stood seven little beds one next to the other, made with snow-white sheets.
As Dana was very hungry and thirsty, she ate a bit of bread and vegetable of every plate and drank a few drops of wine from every glass, she didn't want to take everything from only one. And as she was tired, she lay down in one of the beds, but none of them fit, one too short one too long, until the seventh was right, there she stayed and fell asleep soon.
When it was completely dark, the owners of the little house came home, seven dwarves, who dug for ore in the hills. They lit their seven lights, and when the hut was brightly lit, they saw that someone had been in, not everything was as they had left it.
The first one said, "Who sat on my chair?"
The second one, "Who ate from my plate?"
The third, "Who took of my bread?"
The fourth, "Who ate my vegetable?"
The fifth, "Who ate with my fork?"
The sixth, "Who cut with my knife?"
The seventh, "Who drank from my glass?"
Then the first one turned around and saw a little dent in his bed, and spoke, "Who stepped on my bed?"
The others came running and called, "There was someone in mine too!"
But the seventh, when he looked in his bed, saw Snow-white sleeping in it. He called the others, who were astonished and fetched their lights to illuminate Dana.
"Oh my God, oh my God!" they called, "This child is beautiful!" and found so much joy in watching her that they decided not to wake her, but let her sleep on in the bed. The seventh dwarf slept in the beds of his comrades, an hour with each, then the night was over.
When dawn came, Dana woke up, and when she saw the seven dwarves, she was afraid. But they were friendly and asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Dana, but Daddy called me Snow-white," she answered.
"How did you get here?" the dwarves continued to ask. So she told them that her stepmother had wanted her dead, but that the hunter had left her alive, and that she had run all day until she had found the little house.
The dwarves spoke, "Will you do our housework, cook, make the beds, wash, and keep everything clean, then you can stay with us, and shall miss nothing."
"I'd love to!" Dana said, and she stayed with them. She kept the house tidy; in the morning they went out to the hills to dig for ore and gold, and when they came home at night, their meal had to be ready. Dana was alone all day, and so the dwarves warned her and spoke, "Look out for your stepmother, she'll soon know that you are here, don't let anybody in."
But the queen, believing she had eaten Snow-white's lung and liver, thought she was the first and fairest again. She stepped in front of her mirror and spoke,
"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the fairest of them all?"
And the mirror answered,
"My majesty, you're the fairest here,
but Snow-white across the hills
with the seven dwarves
is a thousand times as fair."
That scared her, because she knew that the mirror wouldn't lie to her, and realized that the hunter had betrayed her and that Snow-white was still alive. She thought and thought how she could kill the girl; because as long as she wasn't the fairest of them all, envy wouldn't let her sleep.
When she had finally thought of something, she painted her face and dressed like an old saleswoman so that nobody would know her. Like this, she went across the seven hill to the seven dwarves, knocked on the door and called, "Fine goods for sale!"
Dana looked out of the window and called, "What do you sell, madam?"
"Fine goods, fine goods," she answered, "Straps of all colors," and she took one out that was made of colored silk. This honest woman I can let in, Dana thought, opened the door and bought the nice strap.
"Poor girl," the old woman said, "See what you like! Let me help you."
Dana didn't expect any evil, stood in front of her let the woman help her with the new strap. But she tied Dana up quickly and thoroughly, until she couldn't breathe anymore and fell to the ground as if she were dead.
"You've been fair for the longest time," the woman said and left.
Not long after, at dinner-time, the seven dwarves returned home and were very scared to find their dear Snow-white lying on the ground, she didn't move and seemed dead.
They lifted her up, and as they saw she was tied up too tight, they cut the strap -- and she started to breathe a little and became a bit livelier again.
When the dwarves heard what had happened, they said, "The old woman was no-one but the evil queen -- be careful and don't let anybody in as long as we're not at home."
The queen, when she returned home, asked her mirror,
"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the fairest of them all?"
It answered like before,
"My majesty, you're the fairest here,
but Snow-white across the hills
with the seven dwarves
is a thousand times as fair."
When she heard this, she was nearly scared out of her life, as she knew that Dana had to be alive again.
"Now," she spoke, "I will think of something that shall destroy you for once and ever," and with her magical skills, she made a toxic comb. Then she dressed as another old woman, went across the seven hills to the seven dwarves, knocked on the door and called, "Fine goods for sale!"
Snow-white looked out of the window saying, "Go on, I may not let anybody in."
"But looking is surely allowed," the old woman said, pulling out the toxic comb and holding it up.
Snow-white liked the comb so much that she was fooled and opened the door.
When they had agreed about the sale, the woman said, "Let me comb you."
Poor Dana didn't think any evil and let her, but as soon as the comb was in her hair, the toxin started to work, and she fell to the ground unconsciously.
"You paragon of beauty, that was it for you," the nasty woman said and left her to die.
Fortunately, it was nearly evening, and the dwarves arrived soon after. When they saw Snow-white on the ground like dead, they instantly suspected the stepmother, searched the girl and found the comb. As soon as they had pulled it out, Snow-white regained consciousness and told them what had happened. They warned her again to take good care and not open the door.
The queen stepped in front of her mirror at home and spoke,
"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the fairest of them all?"
It answered like before,
"My majesty, you're the fairest here,
but Snow-white across the hills
with the seven dwarves
is a thousand times as fair."
When hearing the mirror talk like that, she started to tremble from fury.
"Snow-white shall die," she called, "even if it costs my own life."
She went to a hidden, lonely chamber, where nobody could find her, and made a toxic apple. On the outside, it was beautiful, white and red, so that everybody who saw it wanted to eat it, put the smallest piece was deadly.
When the apple was ready, she painted her face and dressed as a farmer's wife. Then she went across the seven hills to the seven dwarves. She knocked, and Dana put her head out of the window, saying, "I can't let anybody in, the seven dwarves forbade it."
"Doesn't matter to me," the woman said, "but I have to get away my apples. Look, I'll give you one."
"No," said Dana, "I may not take anything."
"Are you afraid of toxin?" the woman asked, "Look, I'll cut it in two, you'll eat the red part and I'll take the white."
Made the apple was made in such a way that only the red part was toxic. Dana wanted the apple, and as she saw the woman eating of it, she put out her hand and took the toxic part. She had hardly eaten a bite when she dropped to the ground dead.
The queen glared at her evilly, laughed loudly and said, "White like snow, red like blood, auburn like a fox! This time not even the dwarves can awake you again!"
And when she looked into her mirror at home, asking,
"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the fairest of them all?"
it finally answered,
"My majesty, you're the fairest of them all."
At that, her envious heart could rest, as well as an envious heart can rest.
When the dwarves came home in the evening, they found Dana on the ground, not breathing anymore, and she was dead. They picked her up, searched her for something toxic, untied her, combed her hair, washed her with water and wine, but it was of no use, their dear Snow-white was dead and remained dead.
They put her on a bier, sat around it all seven and cried over her, and cried for three days. Then they wanted to bury her, but she looked so fresh and alive and still had her red cheeks.
They spoke, "We can't bury her in the dark ground."
They had made a coffin of glass to let her be seen from all sides, put her inside, and wrote her name on it in golden letters and that she had been a princess. They put the coffin on a hill, and one of them always kept guard over it. And even the Animals came to grieve, first an owl, then a raven, then a little pigeon.
Dana lay in her coffin for a long, long time and didn't decompose, but looked as if sleeping, white like snow, red like blood, auburn like a fox's fur.
One day a young prince called Fox happened to come their way. He saw the coffin, and Dana inside, and read what was written on it. He said to the dwarves, "Give me the coffin and I shall give you whatever you desire."
But the dwarves answered, "We won't give it away for all gold of this world."
At that he said, "Then make a present of it, for I cannot live without seeing Snow-white, I will honor her like my very dearest."
As he spoke like this, the dwarves felt sorry for him and gave him the coffin. Fox let his servants carry it on their shoulders. But they stumbled over a bush, and at the impact, the toxic apple came free of Dana's throat. Not long after, she opened her eyes, sat up and was alive again. "Where am I?" she called.
Fox said joyfully, "You're with me." He told her what had happened, and said, "I love you more than anything in the world, come with me to my father's castle and be my wife."
Dana agreed, they went home, and their wedding was prepared with magnificence.
Dana's stepmother was invited to the wedding. Donned in her most wonderful dresses, she stepped in front of her mirror and spoke,
"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the fairest of them all?"
And the mirror answered,
"My majesty, you're the fairest here,
but the young queen is a thousand times as fair."
The evil woman cursed loudly, and was so scared that she didn't know what to do. First, she didn't want to go to the wedding at all, but she couldn't rest, she had to see the young queen.
When she entered, she recognized Dana, and was paralyzed by fear. But iron shoes had been put in the fire, and were carried in with tongs and put down in front of her. She had to step into the red-hot shoes and dance till she dropped dead. Dana and Fox, however, lived happily ever after.