Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the flakes¹ 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 pricked² 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 haughty³, and she could not bear that anyone else should 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 spoke⁴ 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 heart as a token.” The huntsman obeyed, and took her away; but when he had

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1 flakes
小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人
参考例句：
It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。 It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

2 pricked
刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛
参考例句：
The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。 He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

3 haughty
adj.傲慢的，高傲的
参考例句：
He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。 They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。

4 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 devoured
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光
参考例句：
She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。 The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

7 dwarf
n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小
参考例句：
The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。 The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

8 dwarfs
n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式）
参考例句：
Shakespeare dwarfs other dramatists. 莎士比亚使其他剧作家相形见绌。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The new building dwarfs all the other buildings in the town. 新大楼使城里所有其他建筑物都显得矮小了。 来自辞典例句

9 delved
v.深入探究，钻研( delve的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She delved in her handbag for a pen. 她在手提包里翻找钢笔。 He delved into the family archives looking for the facts. 他深入查考这个家族的家谱以寻找事实根据。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 astonishment
n.惊奇，惊异
参考例句：
They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。 I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

11 dwelling
n.住宅，住所，寓所
参考例句：
Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。 He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

12 copper
n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的
参考例句：
The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。 Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

13 astounded
v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶
参考例句：
His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。 How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

14 worthy
adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的
参考例句：
I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。 There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

15 witchcraft
n.魔法，巫术
参考例句：
The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。 All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。

16 beguiled
v.欺骗( beguile的过去式和过去分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等）
参考例句：
She beguiled them into believing her version of events. 她哄骗他们相信了她叙述的事情。 He beguiled me into signing this contract. 他诱骗我签订了这项合同。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 paragon
n.模范，典型
参考例句：
He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。 Man is the paragon of animals.人是万物之灵。

18 envious
adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的
参考例句：
I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。 She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

19 transparent
adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的
参考例句：
The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。 The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

20 coffin
n.棺材，灵柩
参考例句：
When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。 The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

21 owl
n.猫头鹰，枭
参考例句：
Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。 I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

22 raven
n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的
参考例句：
We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。 Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

23 utterly
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。 I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

24 slippers
n. 拖鞋
参考例句：
a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋 He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

25 tongs
n.钳；夹子
参考例句：
She used tongs to put some more coal on the fire.她用火钳再夹一些煤放进炉子里。 He picked up the hot metal with a pair of tongs.他用一把钳子夹起这块热金属。