"
"Where, then, are you going, dear bear?" asked Snow-White. "I have to
go to the woods to protect my treasure from the bad dwarfs. In winter
time when the earth is frozen hard, they must remain underground, and
cannot make their way through; but now that the sunshine has thawed
the earth they can come to the surface, and whatever gets into their
hands, or is brought to their caves, seldom, if ever, again sees
daylight."
Snow-White was very sad when she said good-bye to the good-natured
beast, and unfastened the door, that he might go; but in going out he
was caught by a hook in the lintel, and a scrap of his fur being torn,
Snow-White thought there was something shining like gold through the
rent; but he went out so quickly that she could not feel certain what
it was, and soon he was hidden among the trees.
One day the mother sent her children into the wood to pick up sticks.
They found a big tree lying on the ground. It had been felled, and
towards the roots they noticed something skipping and springing, which
they could not make out, as it was sometimes hidden in the grasses. As
they came nearer they could see it was a dwarf, with a shrivelled up
face and a snow-white beard an ell long.
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