Snow White goes Skating

Snow White loved her mother. When she was ill, she went to her mother’s room as much as she could. Sometimes they sat together quietly, and sometimes they talked.

One afternoon, her mother said, “You should know that I was born a Fairy. But I had to give that up when I married your father, the King. I loved him very much. The Fairy Queen said to me “You will be human. But if you have a daughter, you may grant her one wish.  My dear daughter, is there anything that you wish for?”

Snow White thought a moment. Then she said, “I wish that we could be together forever.”

“Ah,” her mother said, sadly. “For humans, nothing is forever.”

Snow White was quiet. Then she said, “I wish that I could skate as I do in my dreams… I skate so fast, jump so high, and spin so fast. Sometimes, I jump and spin at the same time.  The funny thing is, in my dreams we go to your Magic Mountain with the moat round it where the ice is always smooth and I dance, skating in turn with all the Seven Dwarves …”

Later, as you know, Snow White went to live with the Seven Dwarves because the Castle was no longer safe for her. When she arrived, she knocked on the cottage door even though it was open. There was no-one there. “They must have gone to dig and delve in the Mountain,” said Snow White. “I shall tidy up.” And so she did. What a job! Seven pairs of dirty socks, seven pairs of slippers, seven pairs of pyjamas, and so it went on!  Then she looked in the kitchen, and tidied up there too…

Snow White was quite tired by the end of it, sat down in a chair and went to sleep.

While she was sleeping, the dwarves came home.

 “Yo ho,” said No 1, “this is our Queen’s daughter. Doesn’t she look like her?”

“Just like her.” said No 2.

“Hope she doesn’t want her Mountain back.” said No 3.

“Why should she?” said No 4.

“We promised to be her friend for ever and ever.” said No 5.

“We haven’t started yet,” said No 6.

“Don’t talk so much,” said No 7, “you’ll wake her up.”

You see the cottage rule was that if one dwarf said something, all the other dwarves had to have their turn. This meant that conversations took a very long time. Then Snow White woke up. “Hello” said the Seven Dwarves, all at once (fortunately).

“Welcome to our cottage.”

Snow White smiled. “I’m glad I’m welcome,” she said. “Because I can’t stay at the Palace with the New Queen.   My mother said you were all our friends. Can I stay here?”

“Of course,” said No 1.

“Can you dig and delve?” said No 2.  Snow White said nothing.

“You’ll have to do something,” said No 3, “if you can’t dig and delve.”

“I can sing and do the accounts” said Snow White. “And I’m always ready to help.”

“Can I sit next to you?” said No 4.

“I want to sit on the other side,” said No 5.

“We’re all tidy,” said No 6, “and if you don’t come to the mountain you must see to the house.”

 “Never take food from strangers,” said No 7.

So Snow White lived with the seven Dwarves and they were very happy, though she did find it difficult speaking with all 7 of them in turn.

One morning, they all said at once “It’s time to get up”. Snow White got up. Then she said, “It’s my birthday.”

“Oh, in that case,” said the Seven Dwarves together, “what would you like for a present?”

“Well,” said Snow White. “Can we go skating round the magic Mountain?”

No 1 said, “I love skating.”

No. 2 said, “It’s time we had a day off.”

No 3 said, “It’s Snow White’s birthday, and she should have what she wants.”

No 4 said, “Whether she wants it or not, we all want to go.”

No 5 said, “I agree.”

No 6 said, “I’ll bring the birthday cake.”

No 7 didn’t say anything, but he sang the Seven Dwarves favourite song. “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to skate we go…”

It was not long before the Seven Dwarves and Snow White set off with their skates for the Magic Mountain.  Snow White had never been there before, though she was a very good skater, as there was a rink in the Palace. Snow White loved skating and skated in the Palace Rink every day… When the Seven Dwarves and Snow White arrived at the Magic Mountain, it was so beautiful. The sky was blue, and the ice was clean, safe, and waiting for them. Soon they were whizzing about, twirling, and jumping, and spinning.  Snow White danced with the dwarves in turn, and did a different dance with each of them.  No. 1 was the best skater. And Snow White did all her favourite moves. Even the ones she found difficult on the Palace Rink  went beautifully on the Magic Mountain.  Snow White was so happy, but then she thought of her mother and felt sad.

“No, no,” said her mother. “Don’t be sad. I am with you. This is your wish that you were granted through me.  I will always be with you when you skate, and you will always be able to the moves you have done so well today. You are my dear daughter. I will be with you when you skate, and you will always skate with joy.”

If you want to listen to the audio version, press here: https://charlotteswonderfulstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/snow-white-goes-skating.mp3

I hope you enjoy this story, and will be back for more next month…

Charlotte Sebag-Montefiore