Little Snow White (German Folktale)
Weather rage and environmental inspiration mark the sappy beginnings of this murderous tale.
Outside the castle, Mother Nature puked a blizzard. Inside, a rouge sewing needle harpooned the Queen's finger. Blood oozed. The storm wailed. The fire crackled.
In her heart, the Queen wished for a child as white as snow. As red as blood and as black as ebony wood. Like the window frame
Little Snow White - The Beginning Before the Ending
Yup, some pregnant chick gets stuck inside a castle during a hyped-up blizzard. With nothing better to do, the Queen watched blood ooze from her throbbing finger. In a moment of insane inspiration, she makes a wish.
Her wish? To have a kid as white as snow, as red as blood, and as dark as ebony wood. No real specifications beyond this.
Her inspiration? The atmosphere. Mother nature's blizzard. The bloody ooze and ebony black window frames.
Then it happened. As fate, destiny, or luck would have it, nine months later, out pops a baby girl. Her skin was white as snow. Her lips were as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony wood.
Her name, Snow White.
Amazing no one called a specialist to check the kid for anemia.
Yet, here's the twist. The Queen looks around. Her biological clock tick-tock echos through the chambers. Still mesmerized by oozing blood, puking snow, and a wooden window frame, she conjures a wish. Who knows what might happen? Nobody.
Has anyone thought about possible pregnancy complications? Terrifying. Like, what if the kid ends up looking like a bloody mess? Frosted hair like an untamed avalanche, and lips like paneling?
May need a blog post or two to process this one. But it's good news for mom. The color combination worked. She got a beauty.
Life is good. Wishes come true.
Yet . . . What if what happened really didn't happen? Possibility . . .
It happened a long, long time ago, or maybe not so long ago, on a day such as this.
The sun heated up the sky on this balmy summer day. The Queen was hanging out on her hammock reading the latest copy of "Beyond the Gene Pool: A Meditative Guide to Genetic Transformation". Following the prescribed twelve-step meditation process, she visualized a child as golden as the sun; as red as a rose; and as green as the grass. Only instead, she ended up focusing on her blistering sunburn, the patchy lawn spots, and white, fuzzy-headed dandelions.
Nine months later, out popped a kid whose skin was as white as dandelions. Her hair was as brown as dirt and her lips as red as sunburn. Not quite like the golden-haired, green-eyed, rosy-lipped daughter, she had hoped for, but this kid would do.
Her name: Patch of Nature
Or . . . ?
The Queen was a former tree-hugger in disguise. Found living amidst a grove of local fur trees, she faced charges of attempted kingdom unproductivity under the royal work evasion law. Due to a shortage of executioners, and her lack of functional skills, they dumped her into the role of Queen. Certainly explains the finger-stabbing needle. Awed and mesmerized, she dug through her predecessor's jewelry box. Feeling the movement inside of her, she wished for a baby who was as white as a pearl, as red as a ruby, and as opaque as a black diamond.
Hmm . . . Was the daily forecast calling to her? Distracted, she skipped a stitch, nearly executing her non-deserving finger. Yearning for her carefree days in the forest, she wished for a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony wood.
I know . . . What if it was all a giant scam? Designed to dupe unsuspecting royalty into believing this murderous tale had an innocent beginning.
The possibilities are as endless as the people who create them. Join me in playfully expanding the real-life story behind the mysterious maiden some call Snow White.
So . . . Tell, tell! Do tell?
What's your story? Your insight? Your inspiration?
Whatever it is, tell a friend. Your pet octopus or drop a comment below. We'd love to hear.
The Storyographer’s journey has begun!
Until next time . . . Same story . . . Continued
Author's Note: Blog post reference - Little Snow White. A German Folktale by the Grimm Brothers, second edition; 1854.