Snow-White and Rose-Red

A poor widow lived all alone in a little cottage at the edge of a forest. In the garden in front of the cottage stood two rose trees: one bore white roses and the other red. The woman had two daughters who were like the two rose trees; one was called Snow-White and the other Rose-Red. They were as good, happy, hardworking and cheerful as any two children in the world. Snow-White was quieter and gentler; she stayed at home with her mother, helped her, and read to her. Rose-Red loved running about in the fields, picking flowers and chasing butterflies.

The two sisters loved each other so much that whenever they went out, they held hands. When Snow-White said, "We'll never leave each other," Rose-Red answered, "Never, as long as we live." And their mother would add, "Whatever one of you has, she must share with the other." They often wandered alone in the forest, gathering red berries. No animal ever harmed them; the hare ate cabbage leaves from their hands, the deer grazed beside them, the stag leapt merrily about, and the birds sang in the branches.

Snow-White and Rose-Red kept their mother's cottage so clean that it was a pleasure just to look at it. In summer Rose-Red tidied the house, and every morning she put a rose from each tree beside her mother's bed. In winter Snow-White lit the fire and hung the kettle over it. In the evenings, when the snow was falling, their mother would say, "Snow-White, go and bolt the door," and then she would sit by the hearth, put on her spectacles and read from a big book. The two girls sat beside her and spun. Beside them on the floor lay a little lamb, and behind them on a perch sat a white dove with its head tucked under its wing.

One evening, as they were sitting like this, someone knocked at the door. "Quick, Rose-Red, open the door. It must be a traveller looking for shelter," said their mother. Rose-Red drew back the bolt, expecting a poor man, but instead a bear poked its big black head through the door. Rose-Red screamed and jumped back, the lamb bleated, the dove fluttered, and Snow-White hid behind her mother's bed. But the bear began to speak: "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I'm half frozen and only want to warm myself a little."

"Poor bear," said the mother, "come and lie down by the fire. Only take care not to singe your fur." Then she called: "Snow-White, Rose-Red, come out. The bear won't hurt you; he means well." The two girls came out, and gradually the lamb and the dove came closer too and were no longer afraid of him. "Children, knock the snow off my coat a little," said the bear. The girls fetched the broom and swept the bear's fur clean. The bear stretched out by the fire, relaxed and growled contentedly.

Before long the girls felt quite at home with him and began to play tricks on their clumsy guest. They tugged at his fur, put their feet on his back and rolled him about, and tapped him with a hazel switch. The bear did not mind; he just growled as if he were laughing. But when they went too far, he called out: "Leave me alive, children: Snow-White, Rose-Red, don't beat your suitor to death."

When it was time for bed, the mother said to the bear: "You can sleep here by the hearth, safe from the cold and the bad weather." In the morning the girls let him out, and he trotted off across the snow into the forest. From then on the bear came every evening at the same time, lay down by the hearth and let the girls play with him as much as they liked. They grew so used to him that they never bolted the door until their black friend had arrived.

When spring came and everything outside turned green, the bear said one morning to Snow-White, "Now I must go away, and I can't come back all summer." "Where are you going, dear bear?" asked Snow-White. "I must go into the forest and guard my treasures from the wicked dwarfs. In winter, when the ground is frozen hard, they have to stay underground and can't work their way up. But now the sun has warmed the earth; they'll break through, come up, search about and steal. And once something is in their hands and hidden in their caves, it doesn't easily see daylight again." Snow-White was very sad to say goodbye. When she unbolted the door, the bear hurried out, and a piece of his fur caught on the latch and tore. Snow-White thought she saw gold gleaming through it, but she could not be sure. The bear ran off quickly and disappeared among the trees.

Some time later their mother sent the girls into the forest to gather firewood. There they saw a big tree lying on the ground, and beside the trunk something was jumping up and down in the grass. When they came closer, they saw a dwarf with an old, wrinkled face and a snow-white beard a yard long. The end of his beard was caught in a crack in the tree, and the little man was jumping about like a dog on a leash. He glared at the girls with fiery eyes and shouted: "Why are you standing there? Can't you come and help me?"

The girls did their best, but they could not pull the beard out. "I'll run and fetch some people," said Rose-Red. "You silly goose!" snarled the dwarf. "Who wants to fetch people? You two are already too many for me! Can't you think of anything better?" "Don't be impatient, I'll find a way," said Snow-White, and she took her little scissors out of her pocket and cut off the end of the beard. As soon as the dwarf was free, he seized a sack full of gold that lay among the roots of the tree and slung it over his shoulder, grumbling: "Rude people! Cutting off a piece of my fine beard! Bad luck to you!" And off he went without once looking back.

Another day Snow-White and Rose-Red wanted to go fishing. When they came to the stream, they saw something like a big grasshopper about to jump into the water. When they came closer, they saw it was the dwarf. "Where are you going? You don't want to jump into the water, do you?" asked Rose-Red. "I'm not such a fool," cried the dwarf. "Can't you see this wretched fish is trying to pull me in?" The little man had been sitting there fishing, and the wind had tangled his beard in the fishing line; when a big fish bit, the dwarf did not have the strength to pull it out, and the fish was dragging him towards the water. The girls came just in time and held on to him, but they could not free his beard from the line. Again Snow-White took out her scissors and cut off another piece of the beard. The dwarf screamed: "Is that your custom, to spoil a person's face? And now you've cut off the best part!" He took a sack of pearls that lay among the rushes and, without another word, disappeared behind a stone.

Soon afterwards their mother sent the girls to town to buy thread, needles and ribbons. The road led across a heath. They saw a big bird circling in the sky, slowly coming lower and lower until at last it landed by a rock. Immediately afterwards they heard a scream. They ran and saw that the eagle had seized their old acquaintance the dwarf and was about to carry him off. The kind girls at once grabbed hold of the dwarf and tugged against the eagle for so long that it finally let go of its prey. As soon as the dwarf had recovered from his fright, he shouted in his squeaky voice: "Couldn't you have handled me more carefully? You've torn my fine coat to shreds, you clumsy things!" Then he picked up a sack of precious stones and slipped into his cave among the rocks. The girls were used to his ingratitude and went on their way.

On their way home they crossed the same heath and found the dwarf, who had emptied his precious stones onto a clean patch of ground, thinking no one would come by so late, and was counting them. The evening sun shone on the sparkling stones, and they glittered so beautifully that the girls stood and stared. "Why are you standing there gaping?" shouted the dwarf, his ash-grey face turning red with rage. He was about to curse them further when a loud growl was heard, and a black bear came trotting out of the forest. The dwarf leapt up in terror, but he could not reach his cave; the bear was too close. In his fear the dwarf cried: "Dear Mister Bear, spare me, and I'll give you all my treasures! Look at these beautiful jewels! Let me go. What use is a little, skinny fellow like me? You'd hardly feel me between your teeth. Take those two wicked girls instead; they'd make tender mouthfuls for you."

The bear paid no attention to his words and gave the wicked creature a single blow with his paw, and the dwarf never moved again. The girls had run away, but the bear called after them: "Snow-White, Rose-Red, don't be afraid. Wait, and I'll come with you." They recognised his voice and stopped. When the bear reached them, his bearskin suddenly fell away, and there stood a handsome man, dressed all in gold. "I am a king's son," he said. "That wicked dwarf stole my treasures and condemned me to roam the forest as a wild bear. Only his death could set me free. Now he has received the punishment he deserved."

Snow-White married the prince, and Rose-Red married his brother. They shared the great treasure the dwarf had gathered in his cave. And the old mother lived peacefully and happily with her children for many years. She took the two rose trees with her too. They stood in front of the palace window, and every year they bore the most beautiful white and red roses.