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Snow White Story

Snow White is a classic story from Grimms' Fairy Tales, for children aged 4–8. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 3 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 6 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

Grimm's Snow White: a jealous queen, seven dwarfs, a poisoned apple, and a prince who takes her home. With native English narration, plus the Chinese version in Mandarin.

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Read Snow White

One winter day, snow was falling. A queen sat by a window with a black frame. She pricked her finger, and three red drops fell on the snow. "I wish I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood and as black as this frame," she said. Soon she had a baby girl. Everyone called her Snow White. But the queen died.

The king married a new queen. She was beautiful, but she was proud. She had a magic mirror. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful of all?" she asked. "You are, my queen," said the mirror.

Snow White grew up. One day the mirror said, "Snow White is more beautiful than you." The queen was very angry. She told a hunter to take Snow White into the forest and get rid of her. But the hunter felt sorry for her. "Run away, poor child!" he said.

Snow White ran and ran. At night she found a little house. Inside were seven little plates, seven little cups and seven little beds. She ate a little, drank a little and fell asleep.

Seven dwarfs lived there. They worked in the mountains. "What a pretty girl!" they said. "You can stay with us. But don't open the door to anyone."

The mirror told the queen, "Snow White lives with the seven dwarfs." So the queen dressed up as an old woman. Twice she came to the little house, and twice the dwarfs saved Snow White. The third time, she brought an apple. One side was white, and one side was red. Only the red side was bad. Snow White took one bite and fell down. She did not wake up.

The dwarfs were very sad. She looked like she was sleeping, so they put her in a glass box on the hill.

One day, a prince came by. He loved Snow White at once. As his men carried the glass box, they tripped. The piece of apple fell out of her mouth, and Snow White opened her eyes. "Where am I?" she asked. "You are with me," said the prince. "Will you marry me?"

The queen came to the wedding. When she saw Snow White, she was so afraid that she ran away. Nobody ever saw her again. And Snow White and the prince lived happily ever after.

The Chinese version: 白雪公主

很久以前的一个冬天，雪花像羽毛一样飘下来。王后坐在乌木窗框的窗边做针线，一不小心扎破了手指，三滴血落在白雪上。她心想：“要是我有一个孩子，皮肤像雪一样白，脸蛋像血一样红，头发像这窗框一样黑，那该多好啊！”

不久，王后真的生了一个这样的小女孩，大家叫她白雪公主。可是孩子刚出生，王后就去世了。

过了一年，国王娶了一位新王后。她很美，却非常骄傲，容不得别人比她美。她有一面魔镜，常常问它：“魔镜，魔镜，墙上的魔镜，谁是全国最美的女人？”魔镜总是回答：“王后，您是全国最美的女人。”

白雪公主越长越美。她七岁那年，魔镜说：“王后，您在这里是最美的，可是白雪公主比您还要美一千倍。”王后气得脸都青了。她叫来一个猎人，要他把白雪公主带进森林里除掉。猎人把白雪公主带到森林深处，白雪公主哭着求他放了自己。猎人心软了：“快跑吧，可怜的孩子，别再回来！”

白雪公主在森林里跑啊跑，天黑时看见一座小房子。屋里的东西都小小的：七个小盘子，七把小勺子，七个小杯子，还有七张小床。她又饿又累，在每个盘子里吃了一点儿，每个杯子里喝了一小口，就躺在第七张小床上睡着了。

房子的主人回来了，是七个在山里挖矿的小矮人。“谁坐过我的小椅子？”“谁用过我的小盘子？”“谁喝过我的小杯子？”第七个小矮人走到床边，轻声叫道：“快来看，这里睡着一个多漂亮的孩子！”大家怕吵醒她，谁也没出声。

第二天，白雪公主讲了自己的事。小矮人们说：“你就留下来吧，帮我们做饭、铺床、收拾屋子。我们不在家的时候，谁敲门都不要开。”

王后又去问魔镜，魔镜说：“翻过七座山，住在七个小矮人家里的白雪公主，比您还要美一千倍。”王后这才知道猎人骗了她。她扮成卖货的老婆婆，来到小矮人家门口：“好看的带子，便宜卖啦！”白雪公主开了门，老婆婆帮她系带子，一下子勒得紧紧的，白雪公主喘不过气，倒在了地上。幸好小矮人们回来，剪断了带子。第二次，王后拿来一把有毒的梳子，小矮人们又及时拔下梳子，救醒了她。

第三次，王后做了一个苹果，一半白，一半红，毒只在红的那一半。白雪公主说：“我不能开门。”老婆婆说：“怕有毒吗？我们一人一半。”她自己吃了白的那半，把红的那半递了过去。白雪公主只咬了一口，就倒在地上，再也没有醒来。

小矮人们伤心地哭了。白雪公主的脸蛋还是红红的，像睡着了一样。他们做了一口玻璃棺材，把她放在里面，抬到山上，每天轮流守着。

过了很久，一位王子路过，一眼就喜欢上了她，求小矮人们让他把棺材带走。小矮人们心软了，答应了。仆人们抬着棺材下山，脚下一绊，那口毒苹果从白雪公主的喉咙里掉了出来。她睁开眼睛，坐了起来：“我这是在哪儿呀？”王子高兴地说：“你和我在一起。跟我回王宫吧，做我的妻子。”

婚礼那天，王后也来了。她一眼认出新娘就是白雪公主，吓得转身就跑，从此再也没有人见过她。白雪公主和王子幸福地生活在了一起。

Snow White Story: the moral of the story

Jealousy makes people cruel, while kindness brings friends who help. It also gives children a clear rule: don't open the door to strangers or eat what they hand you.

Chinese words in Snow White

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

  • 白雪公主bái xuě gōng zhǔ

    Snow White (Princess Snow White)

  • 王后wáng hòu

    queen

  • 魔镜mó jìng

    magic mirror

  • 猎人liè rén

    hunter

  • 小矮人xiǎo ǎi rén

    dwarf

  • 苹果píng guǒ

    apple

  • 王子wáng zǐ

    prince

  • 醒来xǐng lái

    to wake up

Bedtime storytelling tips

  • Read the queen's question to the mirror in the same slow, mysterious voice each time. After two readings, your child will join in with "Mirror, mirror on the wall."
  • When Snow White bites the apple, lower your voice, then go straight on to the prince. Don't stop and turn off the light at the saddest part.
  • The Chinese version is longer: the dwarfs ask who sat in their little chairs, and the queen comes with laces and a comb before the apple. It makes a good second listen for children learning Chinese.

Things to talk about afterwards

  • What did the dwarfs tell Snow White to do while they were away? Did she listen?
  • Why did the queen keep trying to hurt Snow White?
  • If someone you don't know comes to the door with a treat, what would you do?

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Snow White Story: common questions

What is the moral of Snow White?
Jealousy makes people cruel, and kindness brings friends who help. The story also reminds children not to open the door to strangers or eat what strangers give them.
Who wrote Snow White?
Snow White is a German folk tale published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 as no. 53 of their Children's and Household Tales. Its German name is Schneewittchen.
How does Snow White wake up in the original story?
There is no kiss in the Grimm version. As the prince's men carry the glass coffin away, they trip, the piece of poisoned apple falls out of her mouth, and Snow White opens her eyes. The kiss came from later retellings.
What happens to the evil queen in Snow White?
In the Grimm original, she is made to dance in red-hot iron shoes until she falls down dead. In our retelling for young children, she comes to the wedding, sees Snow White, runs away in fear and is never seen again.
Was the queen Snow White's stepmother?
In the 1812 first edition of the Grimm tales, she was Snow White's own mother. Later editions made her a stepmother, and we follow that version: Snow White's mother dies, and the king marries a new queen.

Source and how we retold it

From the Brothers Grimm, Children's and Household Tales, no. 53, Schneewittchen, first published in 1812 and now in the public domain. In the 1812 first edition, the woman who tries to kill Snow White is her own mother; later editions made her a stepmother. Our retelling follows the Grimm plot and keeps the magic mirror, the hunter, the seven dwarfs, the queen's three visits and the glass coffin. We changed two things. In the original, the queen orders the hunter to kill Snow White and bring back her lungs and liver as proof; here she only tells him to get rid of her in the forest. In the original ending, the queen is made to dance in red-hot iron shoes until she falls down dead; here she runs away in fright and is never seen again.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by 英伦绅士 and the Chinese by 温柔妈妈. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked Snow White Story, there are more stories in Grimms' Fairy Tales. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.

More Grimms' Fairy Tales