An evil queen is jealous of her stepdaughter, who is as fair as snow with lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony. Because she is so fair, she is called Snow White.

The queen has a magic mirror who answers her questions as to whether she is the most beautiful woman of all. At last the mirror replies that Snow White is more beautiful: with that, the queen summons a hunter and orders him to take Snow White to the woods and kill her.

The hunter takes pity on Snow White and lets her go. She runs into the woods, and takes refuge in a little cottage which belongs to seven dwarves, who agree to shelter her.

The queen's mirror tells her that Snow White is still not dead. She disguises herself as a crone, and pays three visits to the dwarves' cottage: first with stays that she ties too tightly, then with a poisoned comb for her hair, and lastly with a poisoned apple. The first two times, the dwarves come home in time to loosen the stays, or take the comb from her hair, but they come home too late to see that she has been poisoned by the apple, and, mourning, build her a glass coffin.

A passing prince, upon seeing the coffin and the beautiful Snow White inside, asks the dwarves to give it to him. While moving it, Snow White is jostled, and the apple falls from her lips. She and the prince get married. The stepmother drops dead from sheer jealousy.