Lesson 9: Snow White

Once upon a time there was a princess with beautiful skin as white as snow and lips that were like rubies. Because of her white skin, her parents named her Snow White. Her mother died when Snow White was a baby and her father married again. Snow White’s new mother was very beautiful, but she was also very evil.

The Evil Queen desperately wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. She had a magic mirror that could talk. The Queen would ask her magic mirror, “Mirror! Mirror on the wall! Who is the fairest of them all?” And the magic mirror would say, “You are the fairest of them all!”

But one day, the mirror said, “Snow White is the fairest of them all!” The Evil Queen was very angry and jealous of Snow White. She ordered her servant to take Snow White to the forest and kill her. The servant took Snow White to the forest, but he could not kill her. She was too beautiful. Instead, he told her to run away.

Snow White ran and ran. She came to a small house and went inside. There was nobody there, but she found seven plates on the table and seven small beds in the bedroom. She prepared delicious food and cleaned the house. Then, she fell asleep on one of the small beds.

At night, the seven dwarves, whom the the small house belonged to, came home. They discovered Snow White sleeping. When she woke up and told them her story, the seven dwarves decided to have her stay with them. When the dwarves were away, Snow White would cook and clean for them. The dwarves loved her and cared for her. They all became good friends.

In the palace, the Evil Queen asked her magic mirror, “Mirror! Mirror on the wall! Who is the fairest of them all?”

The mirror replied, “Snow White is the fairest of them all! She lives with the seven dwarves in the forest!”

The Evil Queen was very angry. She realized her servant had not killed Snow White. She thought of a plan to kill Snow White herself. The Evil Queen put a poisonous spell on a shiny, red apple. Then, she disguised herself as an old woman and went to the forest with the apple. She knocked on the dwarves’ door and pretended to be selling apples.

“Apples for sale!” said the Evil Queen. Snow White wanted to prepare a delicious apple pie for the dwarves, so she opened the door. She did not know that the old woman was the Evil Queen. Snow White took a bite of the poisoned apple, and fell into a deep sleep.

The Evil Queen went back to the palace and asked the mirror, “Mirror! Mirror on the wall! Who is the fairest of them all?” The mirror replied, “You are!” and she was very happy.

When the seven dwarves came home, they discovered Snow White. She was as still as a statue, so they thought she was dead. They cried all night and then built a glass coffin for Snow White. They kept the coffin in front of their small house. One day, Prince Charming was walking by the Dwarves’ house when he saw Snow White. Her beauty charmed him.

He said to the dwarves, “She is the sun! I would like to kiss her!” And he did. Immediately, Snow White opened her eyes. The dwarves realized Snow White had not died, but had been sleeping! The Prince and the seven dwarves were very happy. Prince Charming married Snow White and took her to his palace. They all lived happily ever after.

Vocabulary:

Fair: Beautiful. 美しい.
Example sentence: He has a beautiful and fair daughter.

Jealous: Unhappy and angry because someone has something that you want. 羨ましい.
Example sentence: He had always been very jealous of his brother’s good looks.

Poisonous: Something that is very dangerous and can cause death. 有毒.
Example sentence: That snake is poisonous.

Shiny: Something that is bright because it reflects light. 艶やか.
Example sentence: She has beautiful, shiny hair.

Disguise: To hide how you really look. 変装する.
Example sentence: He disguised himself by wearing a fake beard.

 

Grammar:

Similes – To compare two things using the words, “like” or “as”
Once upon a time there was a princess with beautiful skin as white as snow.
Once upon a time there was a princess with lips that were like rubies.
He is as beautiful as the sun.

Metaphors – To compare two things by NOT using the words “like” or “as”
She is the sun.
That idea is gold.
She is a cow, she eats so much.

Too + adjective
She was too beautiful.
It is too hot outside.
My hair is too long.