Chapter Seven
Something poked at my side. In my deepened sleep, I rolled over. I had been sleeping for about three hours and it was night around the little cottage. But little did I know or care, for such a sleep I was in, making up for the nights of restlessness and misery and painful aches. I had at last found somewhere comfortable and nothing would keep me from taking advantage of it. Then something poked my shoulder.
My eyes opened quickly. I saw the dark ceiling of the little bedroom above me. Something was in the room, I could feel it. Slowly I sat up, leaning on my hands. I twisted around on the beds and screamed.
A group of heads was staring at me over me over the bed frame. I swallowed my stomach and it got stuck in my throat. There were seven of them, seven little men. Surely I was going crazy. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. There they were, staring at me with equal fright and amazement. They all wore the wool nightcaps like the one I had found on the floor downstairs. Some of them had bristly red beards, some rosy cheeks, but all had their bright blue eyes turned on me. Then one, the fattest on the end wearing little round spectacles, spoke.
"Who are you?" he asked, voice cracking in fright a bit. He had some sort of strange accent I couldn't place. I raised my eyebrows.
"I'd like to ask you the same question," I answered.
"I asked you first," he said. Lowering my eyebrows, I sat cross-legged on the bed, determined to keep my wits about me. I sighed.
"My name is." I paused, cautious of these strangers and thinking it would be better not to tell them my real name, "My name is Snow White."
"Well, Snow White," the plump little man pronounced my nickname very slowly, "I am Alberic. Now we have both answered each other's questions."
"Yes, so we have," I replied, slightly confused.
"So you're not a monster?" a very small man interrupted loudly. They all shh-ed at him and he glanced around nervously. This reaction made me laugh.
"No, I'm not," I said gaily. Alberic rolled his eyes.
"Well, of course she's not a monster, men. She's a lady," he emphasized the word, lady.
There was a chorus of "oohhh's."
"But, hey, you were the one who thought Lady Snow White was a monster in the first place, weren't you, Al?" one little man said. Alberic glared.
"First of all, my name is Alberic, not Al, not Ally, Alberic," he folded his arms, "And I knew all along she wasn't a monster."
"Yeah sure," they all started arguing and closing in on him.
"Wait! Wait!" I yelled over the raucous. They quieted and stared at me. "Now if you would just keep quiet and tell me your names, I promise you I am not dangerous."
"A lady? Dangerous? That's insanity!" one of them shouted. My thoughts turned to my stepmother as they formed a line across the middle of the room. Now that I could see them clearer, they wore woolen shirts and jackets and little cotton pairs of pants. Some of them wore boots, but most of them were barefooted. Alberic pushed up his glasses and stepped forward.
"Of course, you know I am Alberic." I nodded and he stepped back. The second little man stepped forward and took off his hat, revealing pointed ears through a thick mass of red hair.
"I am Samsen," he said softly, smiling.
"Pleased to meet you, Samsen," I smiled at him. Each of them stepped forward one at a time. There was Perry, the smallest and apparently the youngest; Warryn, the tall and skinny with a stubble of a beard; Martin, who was full of smiles and hearty laughs for me; Daran, a man full of points, pointy nose, pointy shoulders, knobby fingers and knees; and finally Gareth, the one who believed that ladies could not possibly be dangerous. I should have to tell him some stories.
"Now to order of business," Alberic, who seemed to be the leader of the pack, spoke, "why are you in our house?"
"Your house?" I asked surprised. Then it dawned on me. The seven beds, the seven chairs, seven sets of plates, so that was why. Thoroughly disappointed, I pulled the covers off me and smoothed down my skirts.
"But why are little men living all by themselves in the middle of the forest?" I asked them.
"Men?" Martin laughed, his belly shaking, "We are not men, Lady Snow, we are dwarves."
My eyes widened. I was reminded of a story my father told me once, the one Erin liked so much, the one about the seven dwarves who lived in a house in the woods.
"So it's true." I said to myself, running my fingers through my tangled hair.
"What's true?" Perry piped up. I looked up and they were all staring at me again. I shook my head.
"Nothing, nothing." I stood up and quickly made the beds as they watched my every move. Then I straightened up and looked at them.
"I have a proposition for you," I said, holding my hands in front of me, "If you agree to let me stay with you, as I have no where else to go, I will cook and clean for you, seeing as seven dwarves seem to have some trouble with housekeeping."
They looked at one another.
"Huddle, men!" Alberic ordered and they grouped together, whispering and waving their hands to try and speak. Finally they pulled apart.
"It is decided," Alberic announced, "that Lady Snow White will be allowed to stay in our little cottage as long as she keeps up her end of the bargain."
I laughed gaily. "I'll start right now. Have you had your supper?"
********************************
An hour later, the seven dwarves and I were sitting around the table eating bread and vegetable soup and speaking very cordially to one another and slowly getting to know one another.
"So you have lived here for hundreds of years?" I asked, munching on some of the crunchy bread, the first good food I had had in days. They nodded, slurping.
"Through generations of course," I swallowed.
"Oh no, lady," Gareth said, "We have always lived here."
I laughed in disbelief, "But then you would have be older than one hundred!"
They stared at me. My eyes widened.
"I am going on 182 next month!" Perry announced. And here I thought he was the youngest. I moved on to a different subject.
"What do you do with yourselves during the day? Surely you don't stay at home."
"We work in the silver mines, miss," Samsen said quietly. He always spoke very softly whenever he spoke at all.
"But it's no place for a lady!" Alberic interrupted. They nodded in agreement.
"We work everyday except for Sundays, Lady Snow. But you are welcome to do with the day as you like."
"Thank you," I smiled at them.
Something poked at my side. In my deepened sleep, I rolled over. I had been sleeping for about three hours and it was night around the little cottage. But little did I know or care, for such a sleep I was in, making up for the nights of restlessness and misery and painful aches. I had at last found somewhere comfortable and nothing would keep me from taking advantage of it. Then something poked my shoulder.
My eyes opened quickly. I saw the dark ceiling of the little bedroom above me. Something was in the room, I could feel it. Slowly I sat up, leaning on my hands. I twisted around on the beds and screamed.
A group of heads was staring at me over me over the bed frame. I swallowed my stomach and it got stuck in my throat. There were seven of them, seven little men. Surely I was going crazy. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. There they were, staring at me with equal fright and amazement. They all wore the wool nightcaps like the one I had found on the floor downstairs. Some of them had bristly red beards, some rosy cheeks, but all had their bright blue eyes turned on me. Then one, the fattest on the end wearing little round spectacles, spoke.
"Who are you?" he asked, voice cracking in fright a bit. He had some sort of strange accent I couldn't place. I raised my eyebrows.
"I'd like to ask you the same question," I answered.
"I asked you first," he said. Lowering my eyebrows, I sat cross-legged on the bed, determined to keep my wits about me. I sighed.
"My name is." I paused, cautious of these strangers and thinking it would be better not to tell them my real name, "My name is Snow White."
"Well, Snow White," the plump little man pronounced my nickname very slowly, "I am Alberic. Now we have both answered each other's questions."
"Yes, so we have," I replied, slightly confused.
"So you're not a monster?" a very small man interrupted loudly. They all shh-ed at him and he glanced around nervously. This reaction made me laugh.
"No, I'm not," I said gaily. Alberic rolled his eyes.
"Well, of course she's not a monster, men. She's a lady," he emphasized the word, lady.
There was a chorus of "oohhh's."
"But, hey, you were the one who thought Lady Snow White was a monster in the first place, weren't you, Al?" one little man said. Alberic glared.
"First of all, my name is Alberic, not Al, not Ally, Alberic," he folded his arms, "And I knew all along she wasn't a monster."
"Yeah sure," they all started arguing and closing in on him.
"Wait! Wait!" I yelled over the raucous. They quieted and stared at me. "Now if you would just keep quiet and tell me your names, I promise you I am not dangerous."
"A lady? Dangerous? That's insanity!" one of them shouted. My thoughts turned to my stepmother as they formed a line across the middle of the room. Now that I could see them clearer, they wore woolen shirts and jackets and little cotton pairs of pants. Some of them wore boots, but most of them were barefooted. Alberic pushed up his glasses and stepped forward.
"Of course, you know I am Alberic." I nodded and he stepped back. The second little man stepped forward and took off his hat, revealing pointed ears through a thick mass of red hair.
"I am Samsen," he said softly, smiling.
"Pleased to meet you, Samsen," I smiled at him. Each of them stepped forward one at a time. There was Perry, the smallest and apparently the youngest; Warryn, the tall and skinny with a stubble of a beard; Martin, who was full of smiles and hearty laughs for me; Daran, a man full of points, pointy nose, pointy shoulders, knobby fingers and knees; and finally Gareth, the one who believed that ladies could not possibly be dangerous. I should have to tell him some stories.
"Now to order of business," Alberic, who seemed to be the leader of the pack, spoke, "why are you in our house?"
"Your house?" I asked surprised. Then it dawned on me. The seven beds, the seven chairs, seven sets of plates, so that was why. Thoroughly disappointed, I pulled the covers off me and smoothed down my skirts.
"But why are little men living all by themselves in the middle of the forest?" I asked them.
"Men?" Martin laughed, his belly shaking, "We are not men, Lady Snow, we are dwarves."
My eyes widened. I was reminded of a story my father told me once, the one Erin liked so much, the one about the seven dwarves who lived in a house in the woods.
"So it's true." I said to myself, running my fingers through my tangled hair.
"What's true?" Perry piped up. I looked up and they were all staring at me again. I shook my head.
"Nothing, nothing." I stood up and quickly made the beds as they watched my every move. Then I straightened up and looked at them.
"I have a proposition for you," I said, holding my hands in front of me, "If you agree to let me stay with you, as I have no where else to go, I will cook and clean for you, seeing as seven dwarves seem to have some trouble with housekeeping."
They looked at one another.
"Huddle, men!" Alberic ordered and they grouped together, whispering and waving their hands to try and speak. Finally they pulled apart.
"It is decided," Alberic announced, "that Lady Snow White will be allowed to stay in our little cottage as long as she keeps up her end of the bargain."
I laughed gaily. "I'll start right now. Have you had your supper?"
********************************
An hour later, the seven dwarves and I were sitting around the table eating bread and vegetable soup and speaking very cordially to one another and slowly getting to know one another.
"So you have lived here for hundreds of years?" I asked, munching on some of the crunchy bread, the first good food I had had in days. They nodded, slurping.
"Through generations of course," I swallowed.
"Oh no, lady," Gareth said, "We have always lived here."
I laughed in disbelief, "But then you would have be older than one hundred!"
They stared at me. My eyes widened.
"I am going on 182 next month!" Perry announced. And here I thought he was the youngest. I moved on to a different subject.
"What do you do with yourselves during the day? Surely you don't stay at home."
"We work in the silver mines, miss," Samsen said quietly. He always spoke very softly whenever he spoke at all.
"But it's no place for a lady!" Alberic interrupted. They nodded in agreement.
"We work everyday except for Sundays, Lady Snow. But you are welcome to do with the day as you like."
"Thank you," I smiled at them.