Snow White and Rose Red

Hey guys!

Today's fairy tale is the story of Snow White and Rose Red. It's worth noting that it has absolutely nothing in common with Snow White other than a character sharing her name. If you'd like to read the Grimm Brothers' version of the story, you can find it here.

Once upon a time there was an old woman who lived with her two daughters in a small cabin in the woods. Outside of the cottage there stood two rose trees, one of which bloomed white, the other red. The girls were named after these trees and were called Snow White and Rose Red. They were good daughters, honest, kind, and innocent. (Their innocence is a recurring theme throughout the original fairy tale; some examples include an angel coming to watch over such good children in their sleep, and a lot of symbolism with lambs and doves.)

The two girls went everywhere together, and were always seen hand-in-hand. They swore to never be parted, and that they would share everything. One thing they shared was the keeping of their home. During the summer Rose Red tended to the cottage and helped take care of their mother; during the winter it was Snow White's job.

One winter the girls and their mother had boarded the door and sat reading around the fireplace, for there was a fierce snow storm outside. There came a great pounding at the door, and the mother had the girls open it, thinking it must be a traveler lost in the storm. The girls were horrified to find a giant black bear standing at the door instead! But he spoke kindly to them as they hid, and their mother invited him into their home to grow warm. The girls were reassured, and soon began to brush the snow off of the bear's coat, and to play with him.

He spent the night by their fire, and left in the morning when the storm had died away.  The bear soon became a regular fixture in their little home, for he returned each night. They were all quite fond of one another.

When winter fled and summer began, the bear announced that he must leave the family. During the winter he was able to roam freely, for dwarves hibernated below ground in the cold. However, now that the earth was warming up he needed to go stand guard over his treasure – for dwarves were both greedy and cunning, and would try to steal it. The family watched him go sadly.

Not long after, Snow White and Rose Red were wandering together in the forest. They heard a great struggle, and soon came across a little man with a beard down to his waist. The beard had become stuck in a tree. They tried and tried to help him pull it free, but the beard was quite stuck. Eventually Snow White pulled a pair of scissors from her bag and cut his beard, freeing the dwarf.

Instead of being grateful, he began to curse the two girls for their foolishness. They had cut his beard! His beautiful, beautiful beard!

He hefted a huge sack of treasure over his shoulder and disappeared into the forest, grumbling all the way.

Over the next several days the girls ran into the dwarf several times, each time caught in some dire predicament. Once his beard had grown tangled with his fishing line, and a fish he had hooked was dragging him into the river.

Another time, a giant bird had seized the dwarf by the coat and was trying to carry him away. Each time Snow White and Rose Red saved the dwarf, and each time he railed against them and strode off with a bag of treasure, not even bothering to thank them.

On their way home from town one day, the girls again came across the dwarf. This time he was not in any danger – instead, he had spread his treasure out over the ground so that it sparkled in the sun. They stood and stared in awe, for it was quite beautiful. The dwarf noticed them and immediately grew angry with their presence. He was berating them when suddenly a growling sound filled the area.

The dwarf turned white with fear, for behind him stood an enormous black bear. He tried to weasel his way out of danger, insisting that a small, stringy man such as he would make a poor snack. The bear really shouldn't eat him – why, especially since there were two tasty morsels standing right over there!

But his attempts to convince the bear to eat Snow White and Rose Red instead of the dwarf only served to anger the bear. It stretched out one massive paw and clipped the dwarf's head. He fell to the ground, dead.

Snow White and Rose Red had tried to run, but the voice of the bear made them stop. They recognized it as belonging to their winter house companion. However, when they turned around they found a man standing where the bear had been! He was richly dressed and wore a crown. The man explained that he was a prince, and that the dwarf had cursed him to become a bear. Now that the dwarf was dead, the curse was broken.

The prince married Snow White. True to their promise to never be parted, and to always share everything, Rose Red married the brother of the bear/prince.

Their mother moved to the castle with them, and brought the two rose trees with her. They continued to bloom every year, on with white blossoms, and the other with red.
 

I hope you guys enjoyed the story! The prince and his curse always make me think of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. What did you guys think?
 

I'll see you next week with a post about the Lunar New Year, and after that I'll start my series on Chinese Mythology (which I've been having a blast researching, by the way!). Take care!