What is the Snow White story?

What is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a story collected by The Brothers Grimm and published in their 1812 volume Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Originally published as Schneewittchen in Germany, the Grimms’ version of the story has become the one now widely known around the world, although similar stories were circulating in numerous European countries before the Brothers Grimm ever published their fairy tale collection.

The story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs gained extra popularity in the 20th century, after Walt Disney released his iconic animated film version in 1937. The film became famous not just for being the world’s first feature-length animated film, but also for its engaging telling of the story. The film remains a classic to this day.

Fun fact: In the original tale, the dwarfs didn’t have names. They were first given names in a play script of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that was performed on Broadway in 1912. Disney kept the concept, but invented new names for the dwarfs in his 1937 film. The Disney names stuck, and are still used for the dwarfs today.

So, now we know some of the history, let’s take a look at a short Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs summary, to give us a better idea of what the plot of the story is about.

A short Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs summary

Like many other traditional tales, the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs centres around a beautiful princess. The story also uses the trope of the evil stepmother, jealous of her stepdaughter’s beauty and goodness.

Snow White is a princess who lives in a castle with her stepmother, who is a witch. The witch uses an enchanted mirror to tell her who is the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. When the mirror answers ‘Snow White’, her stepmother has her taken into the forest to be killed. The huntsman charged with the task takes pity on the girl, and sets Snow White free. She comes across a little house where seven dwarfs live, and makes her home with them.

On discovering her stepdaughter is still alive, the witch disguises herself as an old woman and makes her way into the forest. She finds Snow White and gives her a poisoned apple to eat. Snow White instantly falls down as if dead. The dwarfs find her, apparently dead, when they return from work, and place her in a glass coffin.

The next day, a prince is riding through the forest and sees the beautiful Snow White in her coffin. He asks to take her back to her father’s castle. During the journey, one of the men carrying the coffin trips, and the piece of poisoned apple is dislodged from Snow White’s throat. She instantly wakes up, and she and the prince are married.

This short Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs summary gives you an idea of what the story is all about. Now let’s take a look at this classic fairy tale in more detail.

The Snow White story

Once upon a time, a Queen was sitting at a window in her castle. She was sewing with the window open, to watch the flakes of winter snow. She pricked her finger with her needle and three drops of blood fell onto the windowsill. The blood was red, the snow was white, the windowsill was black.

‘I wish I had a daughter with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony,’ said the Queen.

Sometime later, the Queen gave birth to a little girl, who she named Snow White. But sadly, the Queen died giving birth and Snow White was left without a mother.

The King soon married again. His new wife was very beautiful, but she was also a witch. The new Queen also had a magic mirror. Every morning, she asked the mirror the same question: ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’ Every morning, the mirror told the Queen that she was the fairest of them all. For years, the Queen was content, but one day, when Snow White was seven years old, the Mirror said that the princess was now fairer than the Queen.

The Queen couldn’t bear it. She was so jealous and angry that she ordered a huntsman to take Snow White into the woods and kill her. She told him to return with her heart as proof of her death.

But, when the Huntsman took Snow White into the forest, he found he couldn’t bear to kill her. As he raised the knife to kill her, Snow White begged for her life. She promised to run far away and never return to the castle again. Reluctantly, as he was very scared of the Queen, the Huntsman agreed and killed a wild animal instead, so he could present the Queen with its heart.

Snow White walked through the forest for hours. Finally, she came to a small cottage. The door was unlocked, so she stepped inside. Everything in the cottage was small, and there were seven of everything. Snow White was very hungry, thirsty, and very tired. She ate some of the food, drank some of the wine and tucked herself up in one of the beds. She soon fell asleep.

A few hours later, she woke to find seven small men around her. The men were dwarfs, returned from a day of work in the mines. Though initially alarmed at the idea that someone had broken into their home, the dwarfs soon took pity on the little girl, when she explained her stepmother’s plan to kill her. They agreed that she could stay with them if she took on the cooking and cleaning of the cottage. Snow White was delighted.

‘One final rule,’ said the dwarfs. ‘You must be careful when alone at home. Don’t speak to any strangers, or let them in the house.’

Ten years passed. Snow White grew into a lovely, beautiful young woman, and she was getting on well with the dwarfs. The evil Queen, meanwhile, was still obsessed with the idea of her own beauty. She turned to her mirror again, and asked: ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’

The mirror told her that Snow White was still the fairest of them all. The evil Queen was incensed. She thought she’d had Snow White killed ten years ago. She asked the mirror where Snow White was and, because the mirror was bound to always tell the truth, it showed her the cottage in the forest.

Having already been betrayed by the Huntsman, the Queen decided to kill Snow White herself. She set out to the cottage, disguised as an old peddler. She knocked on the door and, when Snow White answered, she showed her the beautifully laced bodices she was selling. She even offered to show Snow White how to lace them up. Snow White agreed but, as the Queen tied the laces, she pulled so tightly that Snow White couldn’t breathe and collapsed. Thinking Snow White was dead, the Queen left. But, luckily, the dwarfs returned and unlaced the bodice, just in time. Snow White took a huge gasp and was revived.

Pleased with herself, the evil Queen returned to the castle and turned to her mirror, asking: ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’

‘Snow White,’ said the mirror.

Again, the Queen raged. She returned to the cottage, this time dressed up as a tradeswoman. She knocked on the door and showed Snow White a beautiful jewelled comb. She showed Snow White how to wear it but, of course, the comb was laced with poison. When the Queen tucked it into Snow White’s hair, Snow White collapsed.

Once again, the Queen was convinced that she’d killed Snow White and fled back to the castle. But, when the dwarfs returned home, they removed the comb from Snow White’s locks, and she revived.

The Queen asked her mirror: ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’

‘Snow White,’ said the Mirror.

The Queen was livid. One final time, she made her way to the cottage. This time, she was dressed as a farmer’s wife. She knocked on the door and offered Snow White an apple. To make Snow White feel more comfortable about taking a bite, she cut the apple in half. The evil Queen took the green half and offered Snow White the red half.

‘You see?’ said the Queen, taking a bite. ‘It’s fine.’

Snow White took a bite and, of course, the red half was poisoned. She fell to the floor and, convinced that Snow White really was dead, the Queen fled back to the castle.

The dwarfs returned to the cottage and found Snow White lying on the floor. This time, nothing they did could revive her. Together, they placed her in a glass coffin outside and mourned her death.

The next day, a Prince was riding by. He came across the coffin and was struck by the beauty of the girl beyond the glass. He knocked on the door of the dwarfs’ cottage and asked for the story. The dwarfs told him all about Snow White and the witch, how they’d found Snow White lifeless on the floor for a third and final time. The Prince asked if he could take Snow White’s body back to her father’s castle, her rightful resting place. Reluctantly, the dwarfs agreed.

The Prince and his men transported the coffin through the forest. As they walked, one of his men tripped over a root and stumbled. He dropped his corner of the coffin and a piece of apple was dislodged from Snow White’s throat. Once it was free, she was magically revived.

The Prince opened the coffin and immediately asked for Snow White’s hand in marriage. She agreed and went with him to his kingdom. The Prince invited everyone in the land to their wedding, except the evil Queen.

Meanwhile, the evil Queen was back at the castle. She consulted her mirror: ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’

The mirror explained that a Prince of a nearby kingdom had a new bride. This new bride, the mirror said, was much fairer than the evil Queen.

Furious, the evil Queen went to the wedding to investigate. When she saw the bride was Snow White, she was overcome with rage, fear and jealousy. Just as she was hatching yet another dastardly plan, the Prince spotted her. Remembering the stories the dwarfs and his new wife had told him, he ordered the guards to seize her. As punishment for her crimes, he ordered her to put on a pair of red-hot shoes and dance. The shoes burned her feet and she hopped from one foot to the other until she was dead.

Where does the Snow White story come from?

It’s not known exactly where the story comes from. There are several possible influences and origins, from various places around the world.

Some scholars believe that the fairy tale is loosely based on the life of Margaretha von Waldeck, the daughter of a mediaeval German count. Famed for her beauty, Margaretha was sent away from her father’s castle in 1549, after the arrival of a very strict stepmother, and sent to the court of Mary of Hungary. Her father owned many copper mines and the majority of the workers were children, a possible connection to the dwarfs in the Snow White story. The children all lived together in single-room huts, like the dwarfs in the fairy tale.

Another connection between the life of Margaretha von Waldeck and the Snow White story is that it’s thought that Margaretha was poisoned. She died aged only 21 in 1554. At the time, however, her stepmother was not a suspect in her murder.

But this is not the only possible source of the story. The Greek myth Chione, tells the story of a young woman that is so beautiful that the gods Apollo and Hermes fall in love with her. The story features old-crone disguises and jealousy between women around beauty and status.

There are also fairy tales from Armenia, Italy, and France, that feature similar themes of fugitive princesses and kind woodsmen, dwarfs or thieves that take her in. Sometimes Snow White is the daughter of a King, sometimes the daughter of an innkeeper. While some versions cast the antagonist as Snow White’s stepmother, she’s her biological mother in other versions. Versions of the Snow White story for kids are sometimes slightly edited, particularly towards the end, so there’s little mention of the evil Queen’s terrible fate.

The Snow White story for kids - teaching the story in classrooms

The story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a classic tale that continues to be a favourite with children everywhere. It gives children a perfect introduction to stories and the enjoyment they can get from reading.

The in-house teachers at Twinkl have created a wide range of resources and activities based around the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to make the tale extra-engaging for little learners. If you found our Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs summary useful, here are some ideas to help you bring the story to life for your classes.

This Snow White eBook is a great version of the Snow White story for kids. It’s beautifully illustrated and written in simple language. It’s perfect for you to read together, or for children to have a go at reading on their own.

The story is also available as a Snow White PowerPoint, giving you an easy way to share the tale and the lovely illustrations with the whole class.

There are also plenty of related activities you can use to make the story even more fun! For example, these Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Story Colouring Sheets are ideal for helping children develop fine motor skills, as well as providing a relaxing activity for the end of the school day.

And, if you’re looking for a whole collection of resources based on this story, you can access them in one easy download with this fantastic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Story Sack Resource Pack! The pack contains a wide range of fun activities, including role play masks, stick puppets, story sequencing cards, games and much more.

The story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an ideal place to start for early Literacy lessons. You can take a look at the Twinkl video below to discover how the story can help with early writing activities.