I had Life

The grass is still green, i sit back and watch the sun.. It is lovely when it smiles. For me he makes light, to make the wind blow and touch my eyelashes. I feel lighter than a feather in air, how beautifully it lifts me and takes me with it. An ardent persona that i felt around me when I smelled the chlorophyll. It is spring, and i see a pink butterfly, on a strawberry. A mesmeric view, that always made me smile again from all the bad times i faced. My tear on a rose leaf is more valuable when it shines like a pearl there, so pure and superfluous. Away from this supercilious world i wish to subside with a polecat, to smell the less skunk blood which is not stale like the human one. I learnt to reciprocate in the grass lands not the door jammed skyscrapers. Somebody stole my world, destroyed it without my knowledge. It was horrifying how i could not reconcile with my soul which was abandoned from breathing the air it owned. My pixie land destroyed. They stare back for i have sharp ears.. I am alienated in my own domain. I just wonder, how do i still smile so genuin unlike them?

Being Feminist

I have never called myself a feminist. Sure, I believe that women are equal. I believe that women should have reproductive freedom. I believe that women should be paid the same for doing the same job as men. I don’t believe in free rides for anyone. Basically, I believe in equality. But I am not a feminist!! We are equal. What do we need to fight for anymore? We’ve won the battle. There is no more need for feminism and women’s rights! Or so I thought.

Even in our modern society women on average continue to earn 2/3 of the income of their male counterparts. Women make up the majority of illiterate population, even in the U.S. The porn industry continues to make “legitimate” movies portraying victimizing women and then peddle it as entertainment. So, are we equal? Obviously not! Even though women have proven themselves viable and equal in the workplace, many people continue to promote woman as the subordinate. Women who prefer being single and not having children are looked on as frigid, while men with the same views are bachelors. Women who do not practice monogamy are scorned and labeled a whore, while men are just called players.

When suddenly all this information came crashing down on me, I could no longer deny it! I am a feminist! So having said that, how do I escape the stereotype trap? When I declare myself a feminist, how do I escape the “obvious” conclusion that I am indeed a man-hating, liberal, hairy arm-pitted lesbian hippie? Why does our society feel the need to place labels on everyone? I’m sorry but I don’t fit into to some mold. I’m my own person and as such can still be a feminist without being any of the above. If I really was, I would hope that I would have the guts to declare it and be proud of who I am. We all have to escape these boxes that people try to put us in.

But let’s face it, I’m not. Although I know my mother is just waiting for me to add lesbian to the already shameful list of pierced (nose), vegetarian, feminist and animal rights activist. Or even worse, Democrat! Horrors! So why is feminism viewed as so bad? Even I used the word fem-nazi, one coined by the extreme right-winger Rush Limbaugh, to describe girls I knew. The word for me meant a woman who hated men. Looking back, I realize how wrong I was. I fell into the stereotype trap so easily made for women just like me. I didn’t question it, I just laughed behind my hand at the feminists like everyone else. So, if I’m not any of the stereotypes listed above, who am I and why is feminism so important to me?

Well, it’s very hard to sum yourself up and not bore your audience to death, or worse come off as self-involved, so I will simply give a short and sweet overview of the relevant points. I am a very recent vegetarian and animal rights activist (I gave up meat a little over two years ago). Economically, I am conservative but socially I’m liberal. This means that I think that government should keep their noses out of our personal lives and that they should stop trying to fix society’s ills with subsidized programs that only end up wasting precious tax dollars. I believe that we should (in the words of my Grandfather) “mind our own damn business” when it comes to interference in foreign affairs. Yes I do have my ears pierced. I do shave. (Both not really important but I am trying to do away with all the stereotypes.) Along with that point, I am not a hippie nor am I a yuppie. I love big cities and I am a confessed shopaholic. I am obsessed with beauty products, make-up and anything sparkly. (Hardly hippie behavior!) On the other hand, I also prefer to buy natural and organic food and avoid purchasing any product tested on animals if I can. In the spiritual arena, I am still searching and really who isn’t.

I am a feminist but not because I was abused or treated as a subordinate by the men in my life. I simply want to see a better way. I believe that women have been second long enough. I want my children to live in a world where they can achieve based on their merits not their sex. And most of all, I want to not have to worry about discrimination as I enter the work force. In the end, sometimes I think that I have a desire to fix everything. This may be true, but where would we be without all the people who tried to “fix things”? (Probably back in the Middle Ages!) I hope that wasn’t too long and boring but there it is. Me, condensed into a paragraph and by no means complete.

So who are feminists? We are people who believe that work still needs to be done in the fight for equality between the sexes and finally we do not want to be confined by stereotypes and judgements made by others. We are men and women, heterosexual and homosexual, we belong to all races, religions and backgrounds and we are fed up! For being what we are!

The Addams Family

The Addams Family are a
group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles
Addams
in collaboration with his friend Ray Bradbury. The Addamses are a satirical
inversion of the ideal American family; an eccentric, wealthy family who delight
in the macabre and are unaware that people find them bizarre or
frightening. They originally appeared as a series of single panel cartoons in The New Yorker magazine, which gained
popularity in the 1930s.

Premise

Addams' original cartoons were one-panel gags and he never developed any of the characters or even gave them names until the sitcom was being developed. All information below is derived from the various media versions.
The family that the cartoons, movies, and television shows are based on is apparently only one surviving branch of the Addams clan. Many other "Addams families" exist all over the world. According to the film version, the family credo is, Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc (pseudo-Latin: "We gladly feast on those who would subdue us").
They reside next to a cemetery and a swamp at 0001 Cemetery Lane, in a gloomy mansion (In The New Addams Family, the address was changed to 1313 Cemetery Lane, in a reference to rival show The Munsters). (Charles Addams was first inspired by his home town of Westfield, New Jersey, an area full of ornate Victorian mansions and archaic graveyards.)
Although they all share macabre interests, the Addamses cannot be considered evil people. They are a close-knit extended family. Morticia is an exemplary mother, and she and Gomez remain passionate towards one another. She calls him "Bubbele", to which he responds by kissing her arms—behaviour Morticia can also provoke by speaking a few words in French. The parents are very supportive of their children, cheering even their smallest accomplishments. The family is unfailingly friendly and hospitable to visitors, in some cases willing to donate large sums of money to causes, despite the visitors' horror at the Addams' particular lifestyle.

Addams Family characters

1.Gomez

Gomez Alonzo Addams is the Addams patriarch. He is the husband of Morticia and the father of Wednesday and Pugsley. Originally Grandmama's son, this was retconned later on to make him Grandmama's son-in-law. His brother (originally uncle-in-law) is Uncle Fester. In the original cartoons, he appears as tubby, snub-nosed and with a receding chin.
In the TV series, Gomez is portrayed as a charming, handsome, and successful man, although he has a child-like, eccentric enthusiasm for everything he does. For instance, his personal portrait depicts him as standing gleefully on his head. Though a peaceful man, he is known to be well-versed in many types of combat. He and Morticia fence with foils sometimes.
Gomez has an endless love for Morticia. He studied to be a lawyer, but rarely practices, while taking great pride in losing his cases. Gomez is also quite pleased with the fact that his law class voted him "Least Likely to Pass the Bar".
Gomez is extremely wealthy from inheritance and extensive investments, but he seems to have little regard for money. Although he invests in the stock market, to the point where there is a ticker tape machine in their living area, he seems to play the market primarily to lose.
Gomez is of Castilian origin and loves to smoke cigars and play destructively with his model trains. Despite his macabre sense of humor, he is extremely generous and known for going out of his way to help those he considers friends.

2.Morticia

Morticia Addams is the matriarch of the Addams Family. She is a woman with pale skin and a Gothic appearance, clad in a Vampira-esque, skin-tight black gown with octopus-like tendrils at the bottom.
Morticia's original mother was Hester Frump (played in two episodes by Margaret Hamilton), but her origins were later retconned and she became Grandmama's daughter. (Grandmama subsequently became known as Esmerelda Frump.) Morticia has an older sister named Ophelia. In the sitcom, her marriage brought her uncle Fester into the family.
Morticia is portrayed as elegant, artistic, and musically inclined (opera singing, tango dancing, and playing numerous instruments). She also knits strange items of clothing for various members of the family.
The original drawing of Morticia in The New Yorker was said to be the inspiration for Maila Nurmi's "Vampira" character, the forerunner of Elvira.

3.Pugsley and Wednesday

Gomez and Morticia have two children, Pugsley and Wednesday. Wednesday, whose middle name is Friday, was originally—as her name suggests—a quiet, somewhat pathetic child, full of woe. In the TV show she is a sweet-natured, innocent, happy child, largely concerned with her pet spiders. A favorite toy is her Marie Antoinette doll, which she had guillotined. The movies gave Wednesday a much more serious and mature personality with a deadpan wit and a morbid fascination with trying to physically harm or possibly murder her brother (she was seen strapping him into an electric chair, for example, and preparing to pull the switch); she is apparently often successful, but Pugsley never dies. Like most members of the family he seems to be stronger than most humans, requiring a lot more punishment to be killed.
For his part, Pugsley is largely either oblivious of the harm his sister tries to inflict on him, or an enthusiastic supporter of it. In his first incarnation, Pugsley (originally to be called Pubert, a name that would be given to the Addams baby in the live action movies) was depicted as a diabolical, malevolent child next door. In the TV series, he is a devoted older brother and an inventive and mechanical genius. In the films, he loses his intelligence and independence, and becomes Wednesday's sidekick, cheerfully helping her in her evil deeds.
The relationship between the Addams siblings seems to have (at least in part) inspired the one between Billy and Mandy in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, with Mandy and Billy's relationship mirroring Wednesday's relationship with Pugsley).
In the most recent animated series, Pugsley's and Wednesday's personalities seem to be a mix of their previous ones, with Wednesday a happy and somewhat optimistic child, while retaining her sophisticated manner from the movies and Pugsley having regained some of his genius when it comes to chemistry and machines, but his intelligence still seems to be rather underdeveloped at times.
The children appear to be home-schooled, receiving all the education they require from Grandmama and Uncle Fester. An attempt was made to enroll them in the local elementary school, but it did not work out.
In the first movie, the children do attend an elementary school. And in the second movie they are on summer vacation from school.

4.Pubert

In the 1993 film Addams Family Values, Gomez and Morticia have a third child, a son named Pubert (voiced by Cheryl Chase), a mustachioed and seemingly indestructible baby with the ability to shoot flaming arrows. Originally conceived by Charles Addams for the character eventually named Pugsley in the '60s TV series, the name was rejected due to fears that network censors would disallow it.
Pubert is referred to in the unrelated 1998 straight-to-video film Addams Family Reunion and the short-lived follow-up series that aired on Fox Family Channel, in which Wednesday states that there used to be a third sibling, but that they ate it.

5.Uncle Fester and Grandmama

Other members of the family who live with Gomez and Morticia include Uncle Fester and Grandmama.
Fester is a bald, barrel-shaped man with dark, sunken eyes and a devilish grin. He seems to carry an electrical charge and can illuminate a light bulb by sticking it in his mouth. In the original television series, Fester was Morticia's uncle, and therefore technically not an Addams, although at times he claims the family name as his own. In all other animated and filmed content, Fester became Gomez's older brother.
Grandmama is Gomez's mother in the 1960s live-action TV series and also The New Addams Family, where she is given the name "Eudora Addams". In both the movies and the animated TV series, the relation between Grandmama and Gomez seems to have changed from mother-son to mother-in-law. However, according to The Lurch Files website, this is not the case. She's only referenced as Morticia's mother in the movie series, having the name Esmeralda Frump (Most Addams Family fans consider the third movie, which actually gives the name, non-canon, so it's conceivable that Grandmama may have had another name. In the first movie, Morticia and Gomez note that "Mother and Father Addams" were killed by an angry mob, removing any possibility that Grandmama could be Gomez' mother in the movie-verse). Grandmama is a witch who deals in potions, spells and hexes of all kinds. She even dabbles in fortune-telling. Her trademarks are her shawl and frizzy hair. In the original TV series, Mother Frump exists as a separate character from Grandmama. In the animated series, Grandmama is only referred to as "Granny". In the remake of the series (in which Pancho Addams does not appear), she is both Gomez and Fester's mother.

6.Thing, Lurch, and Cousin Itt

Another member of the family is seen in the form of a disembodied hand named "Thing". Thing has been Gomez's friend since childhood. He (it is implied that he is male) often performs common, everyday tasks such as retrieving the mail, writing a letter or just giving a friendly pat on shoulder, appearing out of ubiquitous boxes or other convenient containers throughout the house. He communicates with Addamses with a Morse-like alphabet, sign language, writing, and knocking on wood. In the movies and in The New Addams Family and the previous series, Thing is an entirely mobile lower arm and hand, severed just below the elbow (In the TV series, the lower arm was often seen). He lives in an upstairs closet made up as a house-within-a-house, though he is also shown to reside in a cigar box.
In addition to Thing, the Addams family also have a tall, ghoulish manservant named Lurch. Lurch serves as a shambling, gravelly-voiced, Frankenstein's Monster-esque butler though he is a considerable 'Jack of all trades'. He tries to help around the house, although occasionally he botches tasks due to his great size and strength, but is otherwise considered quite a catch by the Addamses for his skill at more personal tasks (e.g. waxing Fester's head, amusing the children, etc). Surprisingly, he is often seen playing the harpsichord and organ with a great degree of skill and somewhat uncharacteristic enthusiasm. In Addams Family Reunion, Gomez states that Lurch is not really an Addams, and Morticia replies that Lurch has parts of many families, and that he has the heart of an Addams. Lurch also seems to have a certain level of imperviousness; in Addams Family Values, a 20-pound cannonball is dropped from the top of the Addams' mansion, landing directly on his head, seemingly with no ill effect. In the sitcom, he was capable of speech; beckoned by the pull of a noose-shaped rope which rang a loud thunderous gong he would answer with a signature monotone, brusque and bass-voiced, "You rang?". In the theatrical movies Lurch never spoke, using only grunts, sighs or simple gesticulations. The New Addams Family returned to the original style, right down to the noose bellrope that rang a gong. Lurch also seemed a little bit more polite than his earlier counterparts.
Gomez also has a cousin, known as Cousin Itt (spelled as "Cousin It" in the movies and the pinball game), who often visits the family. He is short-statured and has long hair which covers his entire body from scalp to floor. Cousin Itt drives a 3-wheeled car: a Messerschmitt KR175.[3] Although in the series he is shown wearing opera gloves, it is unclear what, if anything, is beneath the hair. He is known to speak in a high-pitched nonsensical gibberish that only the family seems to understand. In the second animated series, Itt is a super-spy for the U.S. Government. In the movies he falls in love with a human woman, Margaret, and marries her after her first husband, Tully the lawyer, is disposed of by the Addams children. He and Margaret go on to have a child in Addams Family Values named "What" (from the obstetrician's reaction). In Addams Family Values, Cousin Itt performs the wedding of Fester, demonstrating he has some sort of title and legal power that is not explained in the movie.
In Latin America, Cousin It is called "Tio Cosa" (Uncle Thing) and he is Morticia's brother. Thing is called "Dedos" (Fingers) or "maozinha" (little hand) in Brazil.
Margaret
Cousin Itt`s wife who he had an affair with in the first live action film after her first husband was killed by the Addams children.She and Itt also got married and had a son named "What" she is the first cousin in-law of Fester Gomez and Mortica and the first cousin once removed in-law of Pugsley, Wednesday, and Pubert.
"What"
He is the son of Cousin Itt and Margaret.His name "What" is (from the obstetrician's reaction)he looks exactly like Itt and always has a pass afire in his mouth.He is the first cousin once removed of Gomez and Fester the first cousin once removed in-law of Mortica and is the second cousin of Pugsley, Wednesday, and Pubert.

7.Pets

In the sitcom, references are made to an innumerable collection of bizarre and unconventional creatures such as hawks, bats and alligators although there were a handful with some consistency throughout the various media the family appeared in.
Kitty Kat is the family lion, and can be seen in several episodes roaming around the house. The entire family regards Kitty Cat as they would an average housecat, and seem flummoxed at the notion that Kitty Cat is in any way, dangerous. Pugsley has an octopus called Aristotle, and Wednesday a large collection of spiders with only one she mentions in particular by name, Homer. Coincidentally, in Latin America Gomez is called "Homero" (Homer).
Cleopatra is an African Strangler, a man-eating plant (similar to Audrey 2), belonging to Morticia. The plant eats meatballs made of Yak and other tasty meats specially prepared and more often than not, spoon-fed to her. Morticia had Cleopatra before she and Gomez married, having grown her from a seedling.

The Mansion

The Addams family's (in)famous mansion has had many different incarnations over the years. It made its first appearance (at least, the interior did) at the same time as Morticia and Lurch, in one of Charles Addams's cartoons. The house was depicted as being a dilapidated mansion that had been condemned (and was seemingly haunted, due to the strange creatures at the top of the staircase). Since then, it had become almost a character itself, and served as the main setting for the rest of the cartoons featuring the Addams family. Stories surrounding the mansion (in video games, primarily) are common, and the house's origins and specific nature are explored more deeply in The New Addams Family than any other incarnation.
In the 1960's TV series, the house was given an address: 0001 Cemetery Lane. Its design was also changed somewhat. Instead of being a dilapidated house, it was now practically a museum filled with odd statues, trophies, and other interesting things. The house also sported a playroom with medieval racks, nailbeds, iron maidens, and stockades for "relaxing."
The house once again became a condemned mansion in the New Scooby-Doo Movies TV show, in which the Addamses made a guest appearance. In the following Addams Family 1970's cartoon, the mansion was mounted on a trailer and dragged all over the world with the globetrotting Addams clan.
The two Addams Family movies in 1991 and 1993, along with the second animated series in 1992, resurrected the mansion's original exterior design from the Charles Addams cartoons. The movie Addams Family Values had the mansion appearing exactly as it did in Chas Addams' drawing of the family about to dump boiling oil on a group of carolers from the roof (a gag that was acted out in the opening sequence of the previous film).
The New Addams Family provided a cross between the original TV show's mansion and the movie/comic strip's mansion. The mansion remained a condemned building (According to Morticia, it had actually been condemned five times), and the interior had various dangerous objects and odd statues just like the original TV show. The entrance gate (nicknamed, appropriately, "Gate" in the original TV show and the 1991 film) was now overgrown with foliage. A cemetery was moved next to the house (a change that also occurred in the two feature films and the 1977 reunion special), and there were now various secret rooms and passages. The mailbox and door knockers seem to be alive. When Gomez and Morticia first moved in as the home's owners (though Gomez and Grandmama had been residents even before then), they thought it was haunted. They regret that it wasn't, "but you can't have everything." But the existence of the ghost of Aunt Minerva proves otherwise. It's also mentioned that the home is made of titanium instead of wood (and is consequently bomb-proof), has 26 (or maybe 27) rooms -- if Fester has made a new addition with his cannon -- and the house has apparently been in the family for centuries. The area surrounding the house can be described briefly as a wasteland, with swamps, a moat, and the like. The address was also changed to 1313 Cemetery Lane in a reference to 1313 Mockingbird Lane, the home of The Munsters

Houseguests

Guests include Morticia's older sister Ophelia (also played by Carolyn Jones in the sitcom), Morticia's cousin Melancholia and Morticia's mother (and Fester's sister), Hester Frump (played in the sitcom by Margaret Hamilton, wearing her Miss Almira Gulch dress from The Wizard of Oz). The Addamses have many other eccentric relatives who, in the sitcom, are described but never shown—unless they appear in one of the bizarre family portraits seen hanging on the walls.

Neighbors

Most of the Addamses' neighbors are less than understanding of the family's eccentricities. Within the larger community, the Addamses are viewed as eccentric, dangerous, or worse. Both the TV shows and movies deal with outsiders attempting to understand and "correct" the behavior of the family, and remain frustrated and horrified by the things that the Addamses find amusing. The Addamses, for their part, are just the opposite, and are often shocked and horrified at the actions of conventional society.
The second animated series introduced three new regular characters: the Normanmeyers (Norman, Normina, and N.J.), a family of "normal" people living across the street from the Addamses. While Norman and Normina are constantly appalled and shocked at the Addams' macabre behavior, their son N.J. counts Wednesday and Pugsley as his best friends. Norman owns and works at an underwear factory and is utterly obsessed with underwear, decorating the entire Normanmeyer house with an underwear motif, which arguably makes him less "normal" than the Addamses themselves. Norman was played by Rob Paulsen, Normina was voiced by Edie McClurg, and N.J. was performed by Dick Beals.

The paranormal nature of the Addamses

Unlike The Munsters, which explicitly stated its characters' supernatural identities, the exact nature of the Addamses is never established. They all seem to share a bond with the occult and supernatural. Uncle Fester is often portrayed as something of a mad scientist, and Grandmama as a fortune-teller, but these activities don't really explain the Addamses' seemingly immortal state. The food they live on is inedible or outright deadly for normal humans to eat, and they take an interest in painful activities like walking across minefields or having a sharp pendulum cut them in half.
In the 1960s television series, virtually every member of the family demonstrates some uniquely "non-human" trait:
~Morticia is able to light candles with the touch of a fingertip, and relaxes by literally "smoking" (emitting curls of smoke from her body).
~Gomez is remarkably athletic, his cigar lights the instant he draws it out of his breast pocket and extinguishes when replaced, and he can perform complicated calculations in his head (making a mechanical sound as he does so). He often tells time by reading the time from his wristwatch (which runs slow), then his pocket watch (which runs fast) and then calculating the difference between the two.
~Fester can generate both electricity and magnetism and powers a lightbulb in his mouth as a party piece. In The New Addams Family he can also explode at will without harm. Additionally, he suffers from a severe migraine that can be cured with a press, and apparently causes no harm upon him. He also likes to recharge in his electric chair.
*Grandmama, in addition to being able to whip up potions of varying effects, can fly on a broom.
*Pugsley is able to hang from tree branches by his teeth, although this trait is only referred to and not seen. He's also depicted as being able to survive any mortal injuries and survive his sister's attempts to kill him. He's also a bit more normal (personality speaking) than the rest of the Addams clan.
*Six-year-old Wednesday is strong enough to bring her father down with a judo hold.
*Lurch - a Frankenstein's Monster-like being - is superhumanly strong.
*Thing, whose paranormal nature speaks for itself, can apparently teleport from box to box almost instantaneously.
None of these traits are considered unusual by any others in the family, but treated simply as individual talents that anyone might possess. All take pleasure in enduring such experiences as lying on a bed of nails, being stretched on a rack, and so on.
Occasionally, the 1960s series features guest characters who share the Addamses' tastes, which—along with the fact that the family obviously purchases its yak meat, explosives, etc. from somewhere—implies an entire subculture of people who share the family's tastes (as seen in several Charles Addams cartoons). In contrast, the Addamses themselves consider such things as daisies, chocolate fudge, the Boy Scouts, and other such traditionally "wholesome" things—as well as any distaste for such things as swamps, octopoda, and hanging upside-down from the ceiling—to be odd, if not outright disturbing. Fester once cited a neighbor family's meticulous petunia patches as evidence that they were "nothing but riff-raff". Although the Addamses usually greet "normal" visitors with enthusiasm, these attitudes establish the family as more of an eccentric, old money family that looks down upon the nouveaux riche or bourgeois habits of the outside world.

----------------THE END---------------

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the flakes of snow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen sat at a window sewing, and the frame of the window was made of black ebony. And whilst she was sewing and looking out of the window at the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell upon the snow. And the red looked pretty upon the white snow, and she thought to herself, would that I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window-frame.

Soon after that she had a little daughter, who was as white as snow, and as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony, and she was therefore called little snow-white. And when the child was born, the queen died.

After a year had passed the king took to himself another wife. She was a beautiful woman, but proud and haughty, and she could not bear that anyone else chould surpass her in beauty. She had a wonderful looking-glass, and when she stood in front of it and looked at herself in it, and said, looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall, who in this land is the fairest of all.

The looking-glass answered, thou, o queen, art the fairest of all.

Then she was satisfied, for she knew that the looking-glass spoke the truth.

But snow-white was growing up, and grew more and more beautiful, and when she was seven years old she was as beautiful as the day, and more beautiful than the queen herself. And once when the queen asked her looking-glass, looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall, who in this land is the fairest of all.

It answered, thou art fairer than all who are here, lady queen. But more beautiful still is snow-white, as I ween.

Then the queen was shocked, and turned yellow and green with envy. From that hour, whenever she looked at snow-white, her heart heaved in her breast, she hated the girl so much. And envy and pride grew higher and higher in her heart like a weed, so that she had no peace day or night. She called a huntsman, and said, take the child away into the forest. I will no longer have her in my sight. Kill her, and bring me back her lung and liver as a token. The huntsman obeyed, and took her away but when he had drawn his knife, and was about to pierce snow-white's innocent heart, she began to weep, and said, ah dear huntsman, leave me my life. I will run away into the wild forest, and never come home again.

And as she was so beautiful the huntsman had pity on her and said, run away, then, you poor child. The wild beasts will soon have devoured you, thought he, and yet it seemed as if a stone had been rolled from his heart since it was no longer needful for him to kill her. And as a young bear just then came running by he stabbed it, and cut out its lung and liver and took them to the queen as proof that the child was dead. The cook had to salt them, and the wicked queen ate them, and thought she had eaten the lung and liver of snow-white.

But now the poor child was all alone in the great forest, and so terrified that she looked at all the leaves on the trees, and did not know what to do. Then she began to run, and ran over sharp stones and through thorns, and the wild beasts ran past her, but did her no harm.

She ran as long as her feet would go until it was almost evening, then she saw a little cottage and went into it to rest herself. Everything in the cottage was small, but neater and cleaner than can be told. There was a table on which was a white cover, and seven little plates, and on each plate a little spoon, moreover, there were seven little knives and forks, and seven little mugs. Against the wall stood seven little beds side by side, and covered with snow-white counterpanes.

Little snow-white was so hungry and thirsty that she ate some vegetables and bread from each plate and drank a drop of wine out of each mug, for she did not wish to take all from one only. Then, as she was so tired, she laid herself down on one of the little beds, but none of them suited her, one was too long, another too short, but at last she found that the seventh one was right, and so she remained in it, said a prayer and went to sleep.

When it was quite dark the owners of the cottage came back. They were seven dwarfs who dug and delved in the mountains for ore. They lit their seven candles, and as it was now light within the cottage they saw that someone had been there, for everything was not in the same order in which they had left it.

The first said, who has been sitting on my chair. The second, who has been eating off my plate. The third, who has been taking some of my bread. The fourth, who has been eating my vegetables. The fifth, who has been using my fork. The sixth, who has been cutting with my knife. The seventh, who has been drinking out of my mug.

Then the first looked round and saw that there was a little hollow on his bed, and he said, who has been getting into my bed. The others came up and each called out, somebody has been lying in my bed too. But the seventh when he looked at his bed saw little snow-white, who was lying asleep therein. And he called the others, who came running up, and they cried out with astonishment, and brought their seven little candles and let the light fall on little snow-white. Oh, heavens, oh, heavens, cried they, what a lovely child. And they were so glad that they did not wake her up, but let her sleep on in the bed. And the seventh dwarf slept with his companions, one hour with each, and so passed the night.

When it was morning little snow-white awoke, and was frightened when she saw the seven dwarfs. But they were friendly and asked her what her name was. My name is snow-white, she answered. How have you come to our house, said the dwarfs. Then she told them that her step-mother had wished to have her killed, but that the huntsman had spared her life, and that she had run for the whole day, until at last she had found their dwelling.

The dwarfs said, if you will take care of our house, cook, make the beds, wash, sew and knit, and if you will keep everything neat and clean you can stay with us and you shall want for nothing. Yes, said snow-white, with all my heart. And she stayed with them. She kept the house in order for them. In the mornings they went to the mountains and looked for copper and gold, in the evenings they came back, and then their supper had to be ready. The girl was alone the whole day, so the good dwarfs warned her and said, beware of your step-mother, she will soon know that you are here, be sure to let no one come in.

But the queen, believing that she had eaten snow-white's lung and liver, could not but think that she was again the first and most beautiful of all, and she went to her looking-glass and said, looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall, who in this land is the fairest of all.

And the glass answered, oh, queen, thou art fairest of all I see, but over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, snow-white is still alive and well, and none is so fair as she.

Then she was astounded, for she knew that the looking-glass never spoke falsely, and she knew that the huntsman had betrayed her, and that little snow-white was still alive.

And so she thought and thought again how she might kill her, for so long as she was not the fairest in the whole land, envy let her have no rest. And when she had at last thought of something to do, she painted her face, and dressed herself like an old pedlar-woman, and no one could have known her. In this disguise she went over the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs, and knocked at the door and cried, pretty things to sell, very cheap, very cheap. Little snow-white looked out of the window and called out, good-day my good woman, what have you to sell. Good things, pretty things, she answered, stay-laces of all colors, and she pulled out one which was woven of bright-colored silk. I may let the worthy old woman in, thought snow-white, and she unbolted the door and bought the pretty laces. Child, said the old woman, what a fright you look, come, I will lace you properly for once. Snow-white had no suspicion, but stood before her, and let herself be laced with the new laces. But the old woman laced so quickly and so tightly that snow-white lost her breath and fell down as if dead. Now I am the most beautiful, said the queen to herself, and ran away.

Not long afterwards, in the evening, the seven dwarfs came home, but how shocked they were when they saw their dear little snow-white lying on the ground, and that she neither stirred nor moved, and seemed to be dead. They lifted her up, and, as they saw that she was laced too tightly, they cut the laces, then she began to breathe a little, and after a while came to life again. When the dwarfs heard what had happened they said, the old pedlar-woman was no one else than the wicked queen, take care and let no one come in when we are not with you.

But the wicked woman when she had reached home went in front of the glass and asked, looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall, who in this land is the fairest of all.

And it answered as before, oh, queen, thou art fairest of all I see, but over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, snow-white is still alive and well, and none is so fair as she.

When she heard that, all her blood rushed to her heart with fear, for she saw plainly that little snow-white was again alive. But now, she said, I will think of something that shall really put an end to you. And by the help of witchcraft, which she understood, she made a poisonous comb. Then she disguised herself and took the shape of another old woman. So she went over the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs, knocked at the door, and cried, good things to sell, cheap, cheap. Little snow-white looked out and said, go away, I cannot let anyone come in. I suppose you can look, said the old woman, and pulled the poisonous comb out and held it up. It pleased the girl so well that she let herself be beguiled, and opened the door. When they had made a bargain the old woman said, now I will comb you properly for once. Poor little snow-white had no suspicion, and let the old woman do as she pleased, but hardly had she put the comb in her hair than the poison in it took effect, and the girl fell down senseless. You paragon of beauty, said the wicked woman, you are done for now, and she went away.

But fortunately it was almost evening, when the seven dwarfs came home. When they saw snow-white lying as if dead upon the ground they at once suspected the step-mother, and they looked and found the poisoned comb. Scarcely had they taken it out when snow-white came to herself, and told them what had happened. Then they warned her once more to be upon her guard and to open the door to no one.

The queen, at home, went in front of the glass and said, looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall, who in this land is the fairest of all.

Then it answered as before, oh, queen, thou art fairest of all I see, but over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, snow-white is still alive and well, and none is so fair as she.
When she heard the glass speak thus she trembled and shook with rage. Snow-white shall die, she cried, even if it costs me my life.

Thereupon she went into a quite secret, lonely room, where no one ever came, and there she made a very poisonous apple. Outside it looked pretty, white with a red cheek, so that everyone who saw it longed for it, but whoever ate a piece of it must surely die.
When the apple was ready she painted her face, and dressed herself up as a farmer's wife, and so she went over the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs. She knocked at the door. Snow-white put her head out of the window and said, I cannot let anyone in, the seven dwarfs have forbidden me. It is all the same to me, answered the woman, I shall soon get rid of my apples. There, I will give you one.

No, said snow-white, I dare not take anything. Are you afraid of poison, said the old woman, look, I will cut the apple in two pieces, you eat the red cheek, and I will eat the white. The apple was so cunningly made that only the red cheek was poisoned. Snow-white longed for the fine apple, and when she saw that the woman ate part of it she could resist no longer, and stretched out her hand and took the poisonous half. But hardly had she a bit of it in her mouth than she fell down dead. Then the queen looked at her with a dreadful look, and laughed aloud and said, white as snow, red as blood, black as ebony-wood, this time the dwarfs cannot wake you up again.
And when she asked of the looking-glass at home, looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall, who in this land is the fairest of all.

And it answered at last, oh, queen, in this land thou art fairest of all. Then her envious heart had rest, so far as an envious heart can have rest.

The dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found snow-white lying upon the ground, she breathed no longer and was dead. They lifted her up, looked to see whether they could find anything poisonous, unlaced her, combed her hair, washed her with water and wine, but it was all of no use, the poor child was dead, and remained dead. They laid her upon a bier, and all seven of them sat round it and wept for her, and wept three days long.

Then they were going to bury her, but she still looked as if she were living, and still had her pretty red cheeks. They said, we could not bury her in the dark ground, and they had a transparent coffin of glass made, so that she could be seen from all sides, and they laid her in it, and wrote her name upon it in golden letters, and that she was a king's daughter. Then they put the coffin out upon the mountain, and one of them always stayed by it and watched it. And birds came too, and wept for snow-white, first an owl, then a raven, and last a dove.

And now snow-white lay a long, long time in the coffin, and she did not change, but looked as if she were asleep, for she was as white as snow, as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony.

It happened, however, that a king's son came into the forest, and went to the dwarfs, house to spend the night. He saw the coffin on the mountain, and the beautiful snow-white within it, and read what was written upon it in golden letters. Then he said to the dwarfs, let me have the coffin, I will give you whatever you want for it. But the dwarfs answered, we will not part with it for all the gold in the world. Then he said, let me have it as a gift, for I cannot live without seeing snow-white. I will honor and prize her as my dearest possession. As he spoke in this way the good dwarfs took pity upon him, and gave him the coffin.

And now the king's son had it carried away by his servants on their shoulders. And it happened that they stumbled over a tree-stump, and with the shock the poisonous piece of apple which snow-white had bitten off came out of her throat. And before long she opened her eyes, lifted up the lid of the coffin, sat up, and was once more alive. Oh, heavens, where am I, she cried. The king's son, full of joy, said, you are with me. And told her what had happened, and said, I love you more than everything in the world, come with me to my father's palace, you shall be my wife.
And snow-white was willing, and went with him, and their wedding was held with great show and splendor. But snow-white's wicked step-mother was also bidden to the feast. When she had arrayed herself in beautiful clothes she went before the looking-glass, and said, looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall, who in this land is the fairest of all.

The glass answered, oh, queen, of all here the fairest art thou, but the young queen is fairer by far as I trow.

Then the wicked woman uttered a curse, and was so wretched, so utterly wretched that she knew not what to do. At first she would not go to the wedding at all, but she had no peace, and had to go to see the young queen. And when she went in she recognized snow-white, and she stood still with rage and fear, and could not stir. But iron slippers had already been put upon the fire, and they were brought in with tongs, and set before her. Then she was forced to put on the red-hot shoes, and dance until she dropped down dead.