It was funny to see how deft the mother was with her needles, fashioned
from bone, and her rough thread, which was made of the intestines of the
deer. From her own childhood in the woods, Bundlekin's mother had been
used to this kind of dressmaking. Now, when her daughter had grown, from
babyhood and through her teens, to be a lovely maiden, fair of face and
strong of limb, her sweet, unselfish parent was equal to new tasks. To
the soft leather coats, made from the skins of fawns, martens, and
weasels, she added trimmings of snow white ermine. Caps and mittens,
cloaks for the body, and coverings for the feet, were fashioned to fit
neatly. Fringes, here and there, were put on them, until her girl looked
like a king's daughter. In summer, the skins of birds and their feathers
clothed her lightly, and with many and rich colors, while the forest
flowers decked her hair.

In winter, in her white forest robes, the maiden, except for her rosy
face and sparkling eyes, seemed as if she might have been born of the
snow, or was a daughter of the northern ice god at Ulrum. And because
she was so lovely, her parents changed her baby name and called her
Dri'-fa, which means Snow White.

Yet, though no other girl in Gelderland equalled, and none, not even the
princesses, excelled Snow White in beauty of face, form, or raiment, the
maiden was not happy, even though many lovers came to her and offered to
marry her. Some, as proof of their skill as hunters, brought the finest
furs the forest furnished. Others showed their strength or fleetness of
foot. Some bargained with the kabouters, or fairies of the mines, to
bring them shining ore or precious gems which they offered to Snow
White. Others, again, went afar to get strange wonders, amber and
ambergris, from the seashores of the far north to please her. One fine