Then he mounted his Golden Horse, and rode forth and entered the great forest, where his brother lay turned to stone. The old Witch came out of her house and called him, wishing to entrap him also. He did not go near her, but said, “I will shoot you, if you do not bring my brother to life again.” She touched the stone, though very unwillingly, with her forefinger. Then he was immediately restored to his human shape. The two Gold-Children rejoiced, when they saw each other again. They kissed and caressed each other, and rode away together out of the forest, the one home to his Bride, the other to his father. The father then said, “I knew well that you had rescued your brother, for the Golden Lily suddenly rose up and blossomed out again.” Then they lived happily, and all prospered with them until their death. [Illustration] LITTLE SNOW-WHITE 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. 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 any one 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 spoke the truth. But little Snow-White was growing up, and grew more and more beautiful. 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, I ween._” Then the Queen was shocked, and turned yellow and green with envy. From that hour, whenever she looked at little Snow-White, her heart heaved in her breast, she hated the maiden so much.