Once upon a time, there lived a lovely little prince named Jin. His vain and wicked stepmother, the Queen, feared that one day Jin's beauty would surpass her own. So, she dressed the little prince in rags and forced him to work as a servant in the castle.

Each day, the Queen consulted her magic mirror. "Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" As long as the mirror responded in the Queen's favor, Jin was safe.

One day, as Jin was drawing water from a well, he made a wish. He wished that the one he loved would find him, and he dreamed about how nice he would be.

As he gazed into the wishing well, he saw another face reflected in the water. It belonged to a handsome prince named Namjoon. "Hello. Did I frighten you? Please don't run away!"

But the startled prince had fled to his balcony, where he could watch him from afar.

At that moment, the Queen was spying on Jin and Namjoon. When she saw them together, she flew into a jealous rage and rushed to her magic mirror, demanding an answer.

"Famed is thy beauty, Majesty, but hold! A lovely youth I see. Rags cannot hide his gentle grace. He is fairer than thee."

"Alas for him! Reveal his name."

"Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow…"

"Jin!"

Furious, the Queen sent for her huntsman. "Take Jin far into the forest. Find some secluded glade where he can pick wildflowers. And there, my faithful huntsman, you will kill him!"

"But Your Majesty, the little prince!"

"Silence! You know the penalty if you fail."

Knowing that he did not dare to disobey the Queen, the huntsman led Jin into the forest. But when it came time for him to harm Jin, he stopped and fell to his knees. "I can't do it. Forgive me, Your Highness!"

"Why, why-I don't understand."

"The Queen is mad. She's jealous of you. She'll stop at nothing. Now quick, child-run, run away. Hide in the woods. Anywhere! And never come back!"

Frightened and alone, Jin ran into the forest. Blazing eyes peered out at him from the darkness. Eerie shrieks pierced the air. The branches of trees grabbed at him. Finally, he could run no further and collapsed to the ground, sobbing.

When Jin looked up, he saw several forest animals gathered around him. "Hello. Do you know somewhere I can stay? Maybe in the woods somewhere?"

Jin followed the animals to a charming little cottage in the woods. He knocked on the door, but no one answered. So, he went inside.

"Oh, it's adorable! Just like a doll's house. What a cute little chair. Why, there's five little chairs. There must be five little children. And by the looks of this table, five untidy children. I know, I'll clean house and surprise them, then maybe they'll let me stay."

With the help of his animal friends, Jin cleaned the cottage in no time. Then he decided to check upstairs. "What adorable little beds. And look-they have names carved on them. Jungkook, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung, and Yoongi. What cute names. Oh, I'm sleepy." Jin laid down across three of the tiny beds and fell asleep.

Just then, the owners of the cottage came marching home. They weren't children at all, but five dwarfs who worked all day in their diamond mine.

As they came into the clearing, the one named Jungkook made everyone halt. He peered through his glasses.

"Look-our house! The lit's light! The light's lit! Door's open. Chimney's smoking. Something's in there!"

The dwarfs peeked inside the cottage. Jungkook gasped. "Why, the whole place is clean!"

Yoongi crossed his arms and glared. "Mark my words, there's trouble a-brewin'. I felt it coming on all day."

Suddenly, the dwarfs thought they heard a sound. Jungkook looked toward the stairs. "I-I-it's up there. In the bedroom."

Cautiously, the five little men went to investigate. Jungkook slowly opened the door and peered in. "Why, I-I-it's a boy."

As the dwarfs approached the sleeping prince, he began to stir. "He's waking up! Hide!"

Jungkook dashed behind the beds, and the other dwarfs ran after him.

Jin yawned and stretched. Then he noticed five pairs of eyes looking at him over the end of the beds. He sat up, smiling. "How do you do?"

"How do you do what?" Yoongi folded his arms, scowling.

Jin laughed. "Let me guess. You seem like a Yoongi."

"Heh! I know who I am. Who are you?"

"Oh, how silly of me. I'm Jin."

"The prince?" Jungkook looked very impressed.

But Yoongi frowned. "Tell him to go back where he belongs."

Jin pleaded with his hosts. "Please don't send me away! If you do, the Queen will kill me!"

Yoongi shook his head. "The Queen's an old witch. If she finds you here, she'll swoop down and wreak her vengeance on all of us!"

"Oh, she'll never find me here. And if you let me stay, I'll keep house for you. I'll wash and sew and sweep and cook…"

"Cook!" Jungkook rubbed his tummy. "Hooray! She stays!"

Back in the castle, the wicked Queen stood before her mirror. "Magic Mirror on the wall, who now is the fairest one of all?"

"Beyond the seventh fall, in the cottage of the five dwarfs, Jin still lives, fairest one of all."

"I've been tricked! I'll go myself, to the dwarfs' cottage in the woods. I'll go in a disguise so complete, no one will suspect me."

The Queen concocted a magic potion, then transformed herself into an ugly old peddler woman.

"And now, a special sort of death for one so fair. What should it be? Ah, a poisoned apple! One taste, and Jin's eyes will be closed forever, only to be revived by love's first kiss. No fear of that! The dwarfs will think he's dead."

Back at the cottage, Jin was saying goodbye to the dwarfs as they set off for work. As he kissed each one on the head, Jungkook stood close by. "Now don't forget, my dear, the old Queen's a sly one. Full of witchcraft, so beware."

Then Yoongi frowned. "Now, I'm warning you, don't let nobody or nothing in the house."

Jin smiled at him. "Why, Yoongi, you do care!"

"Heh!"

Shortly after the dwarfs left, the old peddler woman appeared at the cottage. "All alone, my pet?" Jin nodded as the old woman sniffed the air. "Making pies?"

"Yes, gooseberry pies."

"Ahh, it's apple pies that make folks' mouths water. Pies made with apples like these." She lifted a shiny red apple from her basket. "Like to try one dearie, hmmm? Go on, have a bite."

Sensing that Jin was in danger, several birds swooped down on the woman, knocking the apple out of her hand.

Jin tried to shoo the birds away. "Stop it! Go away! Shame on you, frightening the poor old lady."

"Oh, my heart. Oh, my. My poor heart. Take me into the house and let me rest. A drink of water, please."

Unable to make Jin understand, the birds and animals raced to alert the dwarfs. At the mine, they pulled and tugged at the confused little men. Yoongi growled. "What ails these crazy critters? They aren't acting this way for nothing."

Jungkook thought about it. "Maybe it's-the Queen!"

Yoongi galloped off on the back of a deer. "Jin's in danger! We've got to save him!"

Meanwhile, the Queen picked up the poisoned apple. "Because you've been so good to poor old granny, I'll share a secret with you. This is no ordinary apple. It's a magic wishing apple!"

"A wishing apple, really?"

"Yes. One bite and all your dreams will come true."

The old woman grinned at the prince. "Perhaps there's someone you love?"

Jin remembered his prince. "Well, there is someone."

"I thought so. Old Granny knows a young boy's heart. Now make a wish and take a bite."

Jin did so. "Oh, I feel strange." A moment later, he fell to the ground.

A sudden storm began to rage as the dwarfs reached the cottage, where they found the lifeless Jin. Through the rain, Yoongi spotted the old hag disappearing into the forest. "There she goes, men. After her!"

The dwarfs chased the Queen up a steep cliff. "You little fools. I'll crush your bones!" Se tried desperately to pry a boulder loose to crush them. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shattered the ledge, sending the wicked Queen into the valley below.

Though the evil Queen was gone forever, the prince was still locked in her spell. So beautiful was he, even in death, that the dwarfs could not find it in their hearts to bury him.

Jungkook brushed away a tear. "Let's make him a coffin out of glass and gold. That way, we can still see him and keep constant watch by his side.

Prince Namjoon heard of the beautiful youth who slept in the glass coffin. He rode to the cottage of the five dwarfs, and they took him to Jin. Gently, he kissed him. Then, slowly, his eyes began to open. The spell was broken. Love's first kiss had brought him back to life!

Jin's wish finally came true. He bid the five dwarfs goodbye as the handsome prince swept him into his arms.

Soon wedding bells rang, echoing throughout the forest. From then on, Jin and Namjoon lived in their castle in the clouds…happily ever after.

THE END