Again they warned her not to let anyone enter the house during their
absence, and on no account to open the door; but Snow-white was not
clever enough to resist her clever wicked stepmother, and she forgot to
obey.

The wicked queen felt sure now that she had really killed Snow-white; so
as soon as she returned home she went to her looking-glass, and
inquired:

"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is most beautiful of all?"

But the mirror replied:

"Queen, thou art the fairest here,
But not when Snow-white is near;
Over the mountains still is she,
Fairer a thousand times than thee."

As the looking-glass thus replied, the queen trembled and quaked with
rage. "Snow-white shall die," cried she, "if it costs me my own life!"

Then she went into a lonely forbidden chamber where no one was allowed
to come, and poisoned a beautiful apple. Outwardly it looked ripe and
tempting, of a pale green with rosy cheeks, so that it made everyone's
mouth water to look at it, but whoever ate even a small piece must die.

As soon as this apple was ready, the wicked queen painted her face,
disguised her hair, dressed herself as a farmer's wife, and went again