Snow White and Rose Red
Written by Re-told by Meredith Hairston, Illustrated by Fitzgerald Gelis,
Page 1
There once was a woman
who lived in a little
cottage with a beautiful garden
in the front yard.
Page 2
She grew two rose trees, one bearing white roses
and the other red. She had two children, who were just like
the two rose trees; one was called Snow-White
and the other Rose-Red.
They were the sweetest and best children
in the whole world.
Page 3
Rose-Red loved to run around
the fields and meadows,
but most of all she liked to
pick flowers and catch butterflies.
Page 4
Snow-White liked to sit at home
with her mother and help her with
the house and the sewing or
read to her by the fire.
Page 5
The two girls were the best of friends
and when they ventured into the forest
no animal was scared of them
and none tried to hurt them.
Page 6
One evening as the family sat cozily together,
someone knocked at the door.
Page 7
The mother answered the door.
She thought it could be a traveler in need of shelter,
but it was no such thing. It was a bear
that poked his thick black head through the door.
Page 8
Rose-Red was frightened
and ran to Snow-White
who was already hiding
behind her mother.
Page 9
But the bear began to speak and he said,
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you.
I am very cold and only wish to warm myself up."
"My poor bear," said the mother,
"lie down by the fire and be careful of your fur.
Page 10
Then she called,
"Snow-White and Rose-Red come out;
the bear will not hurt you
he is a good honest creature."
Page 11
The bear let the children help him
clean his fur of the snow and dirt;
and they soon grew to like him.
Page 12
When it was time for bed the mother
told the bear he was welcome there
any time he needed a place to stay.
The girls grew to love him and they
looked forward to their nights of
fun and games by the fire.
Page 13
So, the bear returned every night until
the springtime came. One night the bear announced,
"Now I must leave for the whole summer."
"But why, dear bear?" asked Snow-White.
"I must go into the woods and protect my treasure
from the sneaky dwarfs."
Page 14
"In the winter, when everything is frozen,
the dwarfs stay underground, but now,
when the ground is warm from the sun
they come up to look for food and treasure."
Page 15
Snow-White was quite sad about
the bear having to leave...
Page 16
and when she opened the door to say goodbye,
he caught a piece of his fur on the door handle.
Page 17
Snow-White thought for sure that
underneath his fur was a suit of glittering gold
but before she could say anything
the bear was gone off into the woods.
Page 18
A few days after the bear had left, the mother sent
the girls into the woods to collect some branches
for their fire. They came to a large tree and saw
something jumping up and down, but they weren't sure
what it was until they came up close.
Page 19
When they were nearer to the trunk of the tree
they could see a small man springing up and down
with his long beard caught in the tree's trunk.
Page 20
"Well, what are you standing there for,
aren't you going to help me?" said the little man.
"This old tree sprang out on me as I was trying to
collect chips for my dwarf friend's fire and now
my beard is caught! Which one of you silly girls
is going to get me out of here?"
Page 21
Snow-White and Rose-Red looked at each other
and then to the little man. They both had a feeling
that he could be one of the dwarfs
the bear warned them about,
but they offered to help him anyway.
Page 22
The girls pulled and pulled but could not set him free.
The little man screamed, "I am only a small dwarf,
how come neither of you can set me free!"
"Don't be so impatient." said Snow-White,
Page 23
And she pulled out a pair of scissors from her pocket.
She quickly snipped the dwarfs beard
and he was free from the tree.
"Oh you awful girls! You cut my beard!"
Page 24
As the dwarf yelled and complained,
he grabbed a large sack of precious jewels and stones
that he had stashed behind the tree
and as he began to run away
a large bear came growling up behind him.
Page 25
"Oh no Mr. Bear please spare me. I'll give you all this treasure,
just look at these precious stones!"
The bear looked at the dwarf and said,
"I will spare you, but you must leave these woods
with your dwarf colony and never return."
Page 26
The dwarf left in such a hurry
that the girls couldn't believe
how quickly he was gone.
Page 27
They were so frightened that they began to
run away themselves. Just then, the bear yelled to them,
"Snow-White and Rose-Red don't be afraid.
Wait and I'll come with you."
Then they recognized his voice and stood still,
Page 28
...and as the bear moved closer
they saw that his fur was falling off!
Underneath was a beautiful man
all dressed in gold!
Page 29
"I am the king's son," he said, "and have been cursed
by that little dwarf, who had stolen my treasure.
I had to get it back from him to break the curse
and thanks to you I found him."
Page 30
Snow-White was so thrilled
that her beloved bear was a prince
and they all left the woods together
for the king's palace.
Page 31
Soon Snow-White and the prince were married
and Rose-Red married the prince's brother.
They all shared the found treasure with the girl's mother
who came to live at the palace. When she came she brought
the rose bushes with her so they could have
beautiful red and white roses forever after.
