Snow White in the Kitchen Castle

Painting four out of fourteen in The Trial of Queen Vergeblich, The Stepmother of Snow White series.

I remember the mother of Snow White. She was so kind and generous. Just before Snow White was born, she pricked her finger on a needle as she looked out of a castle window at the falling snow. All she could think of was that her daughter should be pure as the falling snow and wanted to call her daughter Snow White. She gave no thought to the pain of the prick.

Her mother died in a hunting accident soon after Snow White was born. The King took a new wife who seemed to have no interest in being a mother or a queen. She spent a lot of time getting dressed and spent most of her time, when she was not arguing with her servants, looking into a mirror at herself. The Queen had many mirrors, but one on the wall was very special, and she seemed to talk to it.

The Queen dressed Snow White in housemaid’s clothing and sent her to work among the staff. She was able to clean, cook and sew. The staff loved to work with her as she beautifully sang while she worked. They had a library of books on a shelf in the Great Hall. The Queen forbade the reading of these books. This sparked the curiosity of Snow White, and she snuck books from the library. With the help of the staff, she learned to read and became educated from the books and staff.

When the King died, everyone knew Snow White was in trouble because when Snow White came of age, she would be Queen and lord over her stepmother.

One day I saw her with Snow White and the castle huntsman. The huntsman left with Snow White after a short conversation. Later he returned with a heart that he had cut from an animal. The Queen took the heart to the cook, and later it was served up as a part of a meal. I could not eat it, but the Queen did. Later in the market, I learned Snow White was staying with the dwarfs in the mountains, so Snow White was still alive.

One day the Queen left the castle with a basket of apples. I thought that she was going to share these with the poor. Later I found out that Snow White nearly died by eating an apple.