Snow White

“See you later, Snow White!” Aaron called as he walked out the door with his ax swung over his shoulder as the rest of the dwarves followed him.

“Snow White, if it is not too much to ask, could we have apple pie tonight?” Luke asked shyly.

“Of course we can,” I replied with a smile.

“Now, remember, Snow White. The queen is very smart, and if she discovers you are not dead, she will come looking for you. So be sure not to let anyone in the house, under any circumstances. Do you understand?” Harold instructed me with a stern look.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want to lose our cook so soon,” Harry said gruffly, but I could see in his eyes that he had softened up to me since we first met yesterday.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone in the house, I promise,” I said with a smile.

“Good. We’ll be home as soon as we finish up in the mines,” Harold said before turning and marching out the door, followed by Harry who closed and locked the door behind him.



“Oh, huntsman!” a voice as sweet as honey called to me, but I knew better than to be deceived by it. I looked up with a look of hatred to see an old lady holding a basket of apples. She was hunched over with tangled white hair that went down to her waist. There were a few warts on her bent and twisted nose with a long red cape tied around her neck and a hood that hung over her head. I did not care who she was, I just wanted to be left alone.

“Quite a disguise, is it not?”

I suddenly realized with a start that it was the queen. She must have seen the surprised look on my face.

“You’d be surprised what a magic potion can do!” she said in a small, cracked voice. “And amazed how well a poisoned apple can look.” She held up a plump red apple in her wrinkled hand.

“Snow White will never fall for it!” I yelled at her, wishing there were no bars in front of her so I could rip her head off for killing my family last night. I had been forced to sit there and watch as they marched, one by one, up to the gallows.

“Oh, she will be fooled, you can be sure of that!” she sneered before placing the ripe red apple back in her basket before walking over to the bars and leaned as close as she could.

“And once she is dead I will bring her dead body back for you to see, so you can see what you caused her to suffer through because of your disobedience. It is your fault she will die a slow and painful death instead of the fast one you could have brought upon her!” she hissed in a low voice. I jumped up and made a grab for that twisted face of hers but she jumped back just in time and laughed as my hands shot through the bars.



“Ok, time to bake the apple pie,” I said to myself, wiping my hands on the apron tied around my waist. I reached in the open with an old rag and pulled out the potato dumplings before setting it on the window sill to cool. I smiled at my work before looking around for apples, but to my surprise we didn’t have any in the house.

I am sure the dwarves will not mind if I make a quick trip to the market for a few apples. I grabbed a white cloth before tying it around my hair and taking the apron off. With a basket I set off for the market, humming to myself. I hadn’t been walking but five minutes when a voice startled me.

“Young lady, could you help a poor old soul?” a cracked and hoarse voice asked from behind me. I jumped and spun around to see a hunched over older lady standing there with a woven basket filled with apples in her arms. She wore a bright red cape that draped across her head with pure white hair that that was knotted in several places. Warts and wrinkles covered her face, but her eyes were a stunning shade a green that seemed all too familiar.

“Yes, of course,” I said, rushing over to her. I took the basket from her arms and she let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ve been carrying this basket for so long my arms feel weak. I wanted to sell them at the market but I do not think I will be able to make it,” she said with a sigh.

“Oh, well I can buy them from you. I was headed to the market to buy apples,” I offered with a smile.

“Oh, how kind of you, my dear. Does a sixpence sound fair?”

“Is that all? They’re worth a lot more than that…” I said before glancing down at the basket of apples. There were five in all.

“That is all I want for them, my dear. You have been kind enough to take them so I do not have to walk all the way to the market,” she said with a crooked smile. “And in return I want to give you this.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a big, juicy apple the size of my hand. “This apple is for you to eat on your way home.”

“Oh, why thank you,” I said as she placed the apple in my hand. I pulled out a silver sixpence from my basket and handed it to the old lady. She seemed more interested in giving me the apple than the money because she just dropped the coin carelessly in one of her pockets before handing the basket over to me.

“Goodbye, my dear,” she called out as she walked away. I waved to her before setting off back to the cottage. When I got back I was starting to get hungry and the sun was setting in the sky, the dwarves should be home soon…

I took the apples out of the basket and chopped them up, all except the biggest one. I was saving that one for myself. When the apples were sliced up I put them in the pie pan I had ready for them and put the crust over them. I put the pan in the oven and leaned against the table with a sigh. It certainly was a busy day today, especially in the morning when I went around to clean the rooms and make the beds.

I walked over to the basket and picked up the apple. It almost looked too good to be true; it was so big and so red it almost looked like a painting of perfection. With a smile I brought it up to my lips and took a big bite out of it.

Suddenly I felt a shock rock through my whole body and I crumbled to the ground. I started shaking and it felt like fire was burning me from the inside. Suddenly a shadow appeared over me and I looked to see the old lady standing over me.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out you had survived?” she sneered. My eyes widened in fear when I realized it was my stepmother.

“Why do you hate me so?” I choked out in a whisper.

“You know why, Snow White,” she said with a frown. “But don’t worry, you won’t die. I do not have the magic strong enough to do that. You will be trapped in an eternal sleep, for which the only way to break that spell is true love’s first kiss. It is too bad your ‘true love’ is rotting in the dungeon and once he sees your body he will be executed.”

My eyes welled up with tears and they streamed down my face as I felt my body become numb to me and the fire slowly die down. My vision faded and soon I could only see darkness. I thought I felt somebody lift me up and drag me, but it was hard to tell what was happening.

“Snow White!” a few voices rang out in shock. It was the dwarves! I suddenly felt my head hit the ground and the next voices I heard sounded like they were traveling through a long tunnel.

“After her! Don’t let her escape!” I could barely make out that it was Harold’s voice. “Snow White, can you hear me? Snow White?!”

Suddenly the voices died down and everything faded into blackness.



I sat on a bail of hay, my face in my hands as I thought about how I could get out of here and save Snow. Suddenly the queen rushed past me in her usual bright gown. She didn’t even turn to look at me or even acknowledge me. Did that mean her plan failed? Was Snow Ok?

I turned to look at the bars over the window that let a shaft of light in. I ran over to them and tugged on them with all my might. When they didn’t budge I dropped down to the floor and started clawing at the stones, trying to move them…but it was of no use. I dropped to the ground and leaned against the bumpy stone wall. One brick dug into my back, but I didn’t care. All I wanted to know was if Snow was alright.

Suddenly I felt something hit my shoulder. I looked down with and saw a small rock lying next to me. I looked up and saw a man with snow white hair that went down to his shoulder. He had a beard and worn out, crystal blue eyes. They looked exactly like Snow’s eyes. How had I not noticed him there before, sitting in the cell opposite of mine?

“What?” I asked harshly. He started waving his hand wildly, then pointing to his throat and his mouth.

“You are mute?” I guessed, and he nodded.

“What do you want?” I asked, still irritated.

He reached one hand through the bars and started to draw in the dirt. When he pulled away I saw a crudely drawn crown with three points at the top.

“A crown? Like a king would wear?” I asked, looking back up at him. He nodded and once again, I couldn’t help but stare into his eyes. They seemed to pull me in, just like Snow’s always did. They were so similar it was uncanny…

Suddenly the old man made a crown shape with his fingers and raised it to his head, as if putting a crown on his head.

“A crown on your head?” I questioned. Suddenly it hit me like a lightning bolt.

“Your majesty?” I gasped. He nodded and gripped the bars with his hands.

“But…but the queen told everyone you had died in an accident!” I explained, and then suddenly looked down the hall suspiciously. I turned back to the man to see a dark look pass over his eyes. He reached through the bars and started to draw in the dirt with his finger again.

When he pulled back I saw one word etched in the dirt: witch