Chapter 2
Snow White ran and ran. She did not know where she was or where she was going. Suddenly, she saw a little house in the middle of a clearing（空地）. It was a pretty house, but it was so small. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. She opened the door and went in.
Is anyone home? Please help me. I’m lost. My goodness（我的天啊）! Everything in this house is so small. The chairs are small. The table is small. Even the dinner dishes（餐具） are small. This looks like a house for children. She went to the kitchen. There was a pot of soup（一壶汤） on the stove（火炉）. She was very hungry, so she ate a bowl of soup. Then she went upstairs. There she saw seven little beds in one small bedroom. She was very tired, and the beds looked so soft and warm. She lay down on the beds and fall asleep（睡着）.
That night, the owners of the little house came home from their work. They were seven dwarves. They looked like men, but they were only as tall as young children. They were miners（矿工） who dug for（挖掘） gold and jewels（珠宝） in the hills.
When they got home, they went to the kitchen for dinner.
Hey! Who ate the soup?
I don’t know. We just got back home.
Maybe it was a thief.
Quickly! Search the house! You search the living room. You search the bedroom. We’ll search the back yard（后院）.
I found someone. He’s asleep in the bedroom.
That’s not a “he”. That’s a girl.
Poor child. Was she lost in the forest? Let her sleep. We will talk in the morning.
The next morning, Snow White woke up. She was surprised to see the seven dwarves.
Good morning, young lady.
Who are you?
We are the seven dwarves. This is our house. Who are you, and what are you doing here?
I am Snow White. I’m sorry I let myself in. I was lost in the forest.
What were you doing in the forest?
My stepmother is the queen. She is jealous（妒嫉） of me. She tried to kill me, so I ran away. But I don’t know where to go.
Can she stay with us?
Why do you want her to stay with us?
I like her. I want to help her.
I want to help her too.
Snow White, you can stay here, but you must work for us. What can you do?
I can clean and I can cook and sew（缝纫）, too.
That will be perfect. We need a good housekeeper（主妇）.
Thank you so much. I’m sure I will be safe here.
But Snow White was not safe. A few days later, the queen asked her magic mirror.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?
Snow White is the fairest, my queen. She is alive. She lives in the forest with the seven dwarves.
No! The huntsman lied to me. Now I must think of a new plan to kill Snow White. The queen was also a powerful（强大的） magician. She made a magic potion（药剂） and drank it. Suddenly, she did not look like a beautiful queen any more. She looked like a peasant（乡下人） girl. Then she cast（投） a magic spell（符咒） on a hair comb（发梳）.
This magic comb will kill Snow White. When she is gone, I will be the most beautiful in the land.