Snow White and Rose Red

A poor widow once lived in a little cottage with a garden in front of it, in which grew two rose bushes, one bearing white roses and the other red. She had two children, who were just like the two rose bushes; one was called Snow White and the other Rose Red, and they were the sweetest and best children in the world, always diligent and always cheerful; but Snow White was quieter and more gentle than Rose Red. Rose Red loved to run about the fields and meadows, and to pick flowers and catch butterflies; but Snow White sat at home with her mother and helped her in the household, or read aloud to her when there was no work to do.

The two children loved each other so dearly that they always walked about hand in hand whenever they went out together, and when Snow- white said, "We will never desert each other," Rose Red answered: "No, not as long as we live"; and the mother added: "Whatever one gets she shall share with the other."
They often roamed about in the woods gathering berries and no beast offered to hurt them; on the contrary, they came up to them in the most confiding manner; the little hare would eat a cabbage leaf from their hands, the deer grazed beside them, the stag would bound past them merrily, and the birds remained on the branches and sang to them with all their might.
No evil ever befell them; if they tarried late in the wood and night overtook them, they lay down together on the moss and slept till morning, and their mother knew they were quite safe, and never felt anxious about them. Once, when they had slept all night in the wood and had been wakened by the morning sun, they perceived a beautiful child in a shining white robe sitting close to their resting-place. The figure got up, looked at them kindly, but said nothing, and vanished into the wood.
And when they looked round about them they became aware that they had slept quite close to a precipice, over which they would certainly have fallen had they gone on a few steps further in the darkness. And when they told their mother of their adventure, she said what they had seen must have been the angel that guards good children.

Snow-white and Rose-red kept their mother's cottage so beautifully clean and neat that it was a pleasure to go into it. In summer Rose-red looked after the house, and every morning before her mother awoke she placed a bunch of flowers before the bed, from each tree a rose. In winter Snow-white lit the fire and put on the kettle, which was made of brass, but so beautifully polished that it shone like gold. In the evening when the snowflakes fell their mother said: "Snow-white, go and close the
shutters," and they drew round the fire, while the mother put on her spectacles and read aloud from a big book and the two girls listened and sat and span. Beside them on the ground lay a little lamb, and behind them perched a little white dove with its head tucked under its wings.
One evening, as they were thus sitting comfortably together, someone knocked at the door as if he wished to be let in. The mother said, quick, Rose-Red, open the door, it must be a traveler who is seeking shelter. Rose-red went and pushed back the bolt, thinking that it was a poor man, but it was not. It was a bear that stretched his broad, black head within the door. Rose-red screamed and sprang back, the lamb bleated, the dove fluttered, and Snow-White hid herself behind her mother's bed. But the bear began to speak and said, do not be afraid, I will do you no harm. I am half-frozen, and only want to warm myself a little beside you. Poor bear, said the mother, lie down by the fire, only take care that you do not burn your coat. Then she cried, Snow-White, Rose-Red, come out, the bear will do you no harm, he means well. So they both came out, and by-and-by the lamb and dove came nearer, and were not afraid of him. The bear said, here, children, knock the snow out of my coat a little. So they brought the broom and swept the bear's hide clean, and he stretched himself by the fire and growled contentedly and comfortably.

It was not long before they grew quite at home, and played tricks with their clumsy guest. They tugged his hair with their hands, put their feet upon his back and rolled him about, or they took a hazel-switch and beat him, and when he growled they laughed. But the bear took it all in good part, only when they were too rough he called out, leave me alive, children, Snow-White, Rose-Red, will you beat your wooer dead. When it was bed-time, and the others went to bed, the mother said to the bear, you can lie there by the hearth, and then you will be safe from the cold and the bad weather. As soon as day dawned the two children let him out, and he trotted across the snow into the forest. Henceforth the bear came every evening at the same time, laid himself down by the hearth, and let the children amuse themselves with him as much as they liked. And they got so used to him that the doors were never fastened until their black friend had arrived.

When spring had come and all outside was green, the bear said one morning to Snow-White, now I must go away, and cannot come back for the whole summer. Where are you going, then, dear bear, asked Snow-White. I must go into the forest and guard my treasures from the wicked dwarfs. In the winter, when the earth is frozen hard, they are obliged to stay below and cannot work their way through, but now, when the sun has thawed and warmed the earth, they break through it, and come out to pry and steal. And what once gets into their hands, and in their caves, does not easily see daylight again. Snow-white was quite sorry at his departure, and as she unbolted the door for him, and the bear was hurrying out, he caught against the bolt and a piece of his hairy coat was torn off, and it seemed to Snow-White as if she had seen gold shining through it, but she was not sure about it. The bear ran away quickly, and was soon out of sight behind the trees.

A short time afterwards the mother sent her children into the forest to get fire-wood. There they found a big tree which lay felled on the ground, and close by the trunk something was jumping backwards and forwards in the grass, but they could not make out what it was. When they came nearer they saw a dwarf with an old withered face and a Snow-White beard a yard long. The end of the beard was caught in a crevice of the tree, and the little fellow was jumping about like a dog tied to a rope, and did not know what to do. He glared at the girls with his fiery red eyes and cried, why do you stand there. Can you not come here and help me. What are you up to, little man, asked Rose-Red. You stupid, prying goose, answered the dwarf. I was going to split the tree to get a little wood for cooking. The little bit of food that we people get is immediately burnt up with heavy logs. We do not swallow so much as you coarse, greedy folk. I had just driven the wedge safely in, and everything was going as I wished, but the cursed wedge was too smooth and suddenly sprang out, and the tree closed so quickly that I could not pull out my beautiful white beard, so now it is tight in and I cannot get away, and the silly, sleek, milk-faced things laugh. Ugh. How odious you are. The children tried very hard, but they could not pull the beard out, it was caught too fast. I will run and fetch someone, said Rose-Red. You senseless goose, snarled the dwarf. Why should you fetch someone. You are already two too many for me. Can you not think of something better. Don't be impatient, said Snow-White, I will help you, and she pulled her scissors out of her pocket, and cut off the end of the beard.

As soon as the dwarf felt himself free he laid hold of a bag which lay amongst the roots of the tree, and which was full of gold, and lifted it up, grumbling to himself, uncouth people, to cut off a piece of my fine beard. Bad luck to you, and then he swung the bag upon his back, and went off without even once looking at the children.

Some time afterwards Snow-White and Rose-Red went to catch a dish of fish. As they came near the brook they saw something like a large grasshopper jumping towards the water, as if it were going to leap in. They ran to it and found it was the dwarf. Where are you going, said Rose-Red, you surely don't want to go into the water. I am not such a fool, cried the dwarf. Don't you see that the accursed fish wants to pull me in.

The little man had been sitting there fishing, and unluckily the wind had tangled up his beard with the fishing-line. A moment later a big fish made a bite and the feeble creature had not strength to pull it out. The fish kept the upper hand and pulled the dwarf towards him. He held on to all the reeds and rushes, but it was of little good, for he was forced to follow the movements of the fish, and was in urgent danger of being dragged into the water. The girls came just in time. They held him fast and tried to free his beard from the line, but all in vain, beard and line were entangled fast together. There was nothing to do but to bring out the scissors and cut the beard, whereby a small part of it was lost. When the dwarf saw that he screamed out, is that civil, you toadstool, to disfigure a man's face. Was it not enough to clip off the end of my beard. Now you have cut off the best part of it. I cannot let myself be seen by my people. I wish you had been made to run the soles off your shoes. Then he took out a sack of pearls which lay in the rushes, and without another word he dragged it away and disappeared behind a stone.

It happened that soon afterwards the mother sent the two children to the town to buy needles and thread, and laces and ribbons. The road led them across a heath upon which huge pieces of rock lay strewn about. There they noticed a large bird hovering in the air, flying slowly round and round above them. It sank lower and lower, and at last settled near a rock not far away. Immediately they heard a loud, piteous cry. They ran up and saw with horror that the eagle had seized their old acquaintance the dwarf, and was going to carry him off. The children, full of pity, at once took tight hold of the little man, and pulled against the eagle so long that at last he let his booty go. As soon as the dwarf had recovered from his first fright he cried with his shrill voice, could you not have done it more carefully. You dragged at my brown coat so that it is all torn and full of holes, you clumsy creatures. Then he took up a sack full of precious stones, and slipped away again under the rock into his hole. The girls, who by this time were used to his ingratitude, went on their way and did their business in the town.

As they crossed the heath again on their way home they surprised the dwarf, who had emptied out his bag of precious stones in a clean spot, and had not thought that anyone would come there so late. The evening sun shone upon the brilliant stones. They glittered and sparkled with all colors so beautifully that the children stood still and stared at them. Why do you stand gaping there, cried the dwarf, and his ashen-gray face became copper-red with rage. He was still cursing when a loud growling was heard, and a black bear came trotting towards them out of the forest. The dwarf sprang up in a fright, but he could not reach his cave, for the bear was already close. Then in the dread of his heart he cried, dear mr. Bear, spare me, I will give you all my treasures, look, the beautiful jewels lying there. Grant me my life. What do you want with such a slender little fellow as I. You would not feel me between your teeth. Come, take these two wicked girls, they are tender morsels for you, fat as young quails, for mercy's sake eat them. The bear took no heed of his words, but gave the wicked creature a single blow with his paw, and he did not move again.

The girls had run away, but the bear called after them: "Snow-white and Rose-red, don't be afraid; wait, and I'll come with you." Then they recognized his voice and stood still, and when the bear was quite close to them his skin suddenly fell off, and a beautiful man stood beside them, all dressed in gold. "I am a king's son," he said, "and have been doomed by that unholy little dwarf, who had stolen my treasure, to roam about the woods as a wild bear till his death should set me free. Now he has got his well-merited punishment."
Snow-white married him, and Rose-red his brother, and they divided the great treasure the dwarf had collected in his cave between them. The old mother lived for many years peacefully with her children; and she carried the two rose trees with her, and they stood in front of her window, and every year they bore the finest red and white roses.
THE END

The library is a good source for all kinds of books, including children's books. I took my own children to the library often, and as teens, they still like to go to the library regularly, although now they've added music CD's to items they check out. Since my children were home-schooled, I used a lot of books from the library to teach them to read, such as young readers books like the Dr. Seuss books. Younger kids can check out picture books for children to learn the enjoyable, life-long habit of reading books. Books are a great way to gain knowledge and learn of different places, learn hobbies, crafts,or just read the great classics.

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