Snow White was sitting up in bed, nursing her baby son, and enjoying the breeze through the window and the singing of the birds. Raymond (the prince) was away but he would be home this evening and they would enjoy a lovely dinner despite the baby's frequent interruptions. The baby was so quiet that Snow White actually checked to make sure he wasn't sleeping. She yawned. She was quite close to sleeping herself. No, this wouldn't do. Snow White sat up and searched for something to do. There was a pile of letters on the bed that had been brought in earlier. Adjusting the arm that held the baby, Snow White reached for the letters with her other hand. Yes, it was as she thought. There was one from the Little Cottage of the Seven Dwarves.
On her last visit Snow White had begun teaching the dwarves how to write. Most of them had only been able to write their own names. She had not been able to teach them much in the three weeks she was with them but when she left they had promised to continue learning under the instruction of Doc. After that, the letters came steadily and constantly.
Letters from the dwarves usually had one thing in common. Spelling mistakes and the request for her to visit. Each time, Snow White had to decline. At first she was too close to delivery, then, after she had the baby, she was too tired and couldn't leave the baby. Snow White opened the letter, expecting another sweet invitation, painstakingly written with much love and care. She gasped. The paper was smudged, wrinkled and dirty. But the message on it was even more alarming than its' condition. It said: Please come NOW! We need help!
It was unsigned. Through the dirt and ink, she couldn't recognize the handwriting. Snow White leaned back against the pillows. What could have happened? Was it something terrible? The baby seemed to sense his mother's distress because he began to cry. Snow White forced herself to calm down, to relax her body and to breathe evenly. There wasn't much she could do right now and terrible as it was she'd just have to wait until Raymond was home. "It's all right, my little dove," she whispered, kissing the baby. "It's all right."
Raymond found her, pale and in tears, and demanded to know what was wrong. Snow White explained and showed him the letter.
"I must go and find out what is wrong," said Raymond. "You must stay here."
"No!" cried Snow White. "You must let me come."
"I won't put you into danger!" cried Raymond.
Snow White took a shuddery breath and forced herself, once again, to be calm and reasonable.
"I'm not a little child," she said. "I've learned much from you already. I'll be careful of traps and tricks and I'll stay close to you but I simply must come!" And seeing he was unconvinced, added, "The letter was sent to me, after all. It may be a problem only I can fix!"
"What sort of problem can that be?" asked Raymond. She knew he was thinking of witches and dark magic and how she would only be a hindrance. But Snow White refused to comply. "You must let me come!" she said, stamping her foot. "You must!"
He hadn't listened to her when she begged to remain at the dwarves for a bit longer so she could teach them some more. But perhaps there was something new in her face because he listened to her now.
"And who would care for the baby?" he asked, relenting.
"Don't be silly!" was all Snow White said. He knew it was really quite a foolish question. The baby had two perfectly capable nurses who adored him and were called in whenever Snow White needed some help or advice or simply rest.
The next morning, wearing a green riding dress, Snow White kissed her baby and whispered, "I'll be back soon!" Then Raymond helped her onto the horse, mounted it himself and they began the journey through the woods. Snow White laughed when she remembered how much these very trees had terrified her the first time she saw them, during her escape from the Queen. Now she was only grateful for their shade. It was August and the sun was hot.
By afternoon, they reached the familiar old cottage. The birds in the old oak by the cottage were merrily singing as usual. They made it difficult to believe that something could be wrong. Snow White greeted them and so did Raymond. Then, he tied the horse to the old oak and rushed inside. Snow White grabbed the door just in time to keep it from banging and also stepped inside.
"What terrible thing has happened here?" Raymond gasped, looking around. Snow White stepped over the shoe that lay by the door and wrinkled her nose but did not see anything out of the usual. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"There must have been a raid by robbers. I believe your dwarves were careless and attracted the attention of robbers with their precious stones."
"Robbers? There aren't any robbers in these woods!" Snow White said.
Raymond gestured wordlessly at the clothes, shoes, and dishes that covered the floor and chairs. Snow White began to laugh. She tried to stop but the more she thought about it, the funnier it seemed to her until she had to lean against a dust-covered wall for support. Raymond stood silently, his eyebrows raised but did not grow angry. He could never get angry at Snow White for laughing. He loved hearing her laugh too much.
"I forgot!" Snow White finally gasped. "I forgot that you've never seen their cottage after I've been away!" Then sobering, she added, "If there were robbers they would not leave cobwebs on the walls. See?"
Raymond pulled away from the web-covered finger. He couldn't understand how Snow White could be so lighthearted when just last night she sat weeping over the strange letter. He couldn't understand that as she spent more and more time here she felt surer and surer than nothing could really be wrong. Not if the cabin was still messy and the birds still sang outside.
"Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!"
"Oh!" gasped Snow White. "They must be coming home already!" She ran to the window, brushed the dust from it, looked out and ran outside with a glad cry.
"Doc, Grumpy, Happy, all of you! I'm here!" Snow White spread her arms wide. Doc stopped abruptly upon seeing her, causing the rest of the dwarves to bump into each other and go flying in every direction.
"It's Snow White!" Doc hollered and the dwarves rushed to her in a stampede. Although her main concern at the moment was not being knocked over, she did notice that there were only six dwarves not seven. The next few moments, she was busy touching shoulders and shaking hands and kissing foreheads as she attempted to greet each dwarf separately.
"Snow White! W-w-what a wonderful surp-p-prise!" said Doc. "W-w-we weren't suspecting you!"
"Expecting," Snow White corrected gently. Then she added, "How could I possibly not come after receiving the letter? Doc, what happened?"
Doc looked blank. "Letter?" he asked.