Snow-White and the Prince of Japan by Svitlana Dovhan

Once upon a time there lived

a girl named Snow-White. She was born to a young and beautiful royal couple, who ruled their kingdom wisely. The Queen’s beauty was out of this world – she needed no luxury dress embroidered with gemstones to show how pretty she is. As you can assume, this woman was modest, and it was a good benefit for Royal Treasury. Thus, the Kingdom blossomed.

Snow-White was just like her mother – rosy cheeks, ebony hair, and milky skin. Her mother passed away one day (what can you do with an accident?). Over time, the King found another woman to share his joy and sorrows with. The new-made Queen was a contrast to the decedent. She was beautiful as well, but her beauty was bittersweet. It happens, sometimes appearance does not correspond with the soul – envy and arrogant. For sure, the Queen couldn’t bear her step-daughter, who surpassed her in every way. One day, she decided to get rid of Snow-White.

It wasn't a problem at all. A couple of words to a servant – and Snow White found herself in a dark and scary wood. Fortunately, she was alive. She wandered through the wood with her weary feet until a small wooden house showed up. Snow-White came in. Everything inside seemed so unusual to her. ‘If this is a forester’s house, why it’s so small?,’ she wondered. There were eight chairs, eight plates, eight cups, and even eight beds. It really puzzled her, but she was too tired to think about it.

As it turned out, dwarfs were the dwellers of this house. Snow White told them her story in detail. The youngest dwarf named Little Joe offered a deal – if she is ready to help around the house, they will let her stay. Snow White agreed, and her new life started.

Soon the Queen found out that the mission was not carried out. So, she decided to finish it herself. The Queen dressed like a vendor and approached the house where Snow White lived. Knock on the door, a tempting offer to buy a wonderful but poisoned lace, and Snow White fell down motionless while trying the lace on.

When eight dwarfs returned, they quickly figured out what had happened. They took the lace out of Snow-White’s ebony hair, and the spell was broken. Then Little Joe delivered a speech:

‘Gentlemen,’ he cleared his throat.

‘And a lady. If Queen, somehow, found out that Snow White is alive and came to grab her life, then it’s not a big deal for her to do it one more time. Today, fortunately, we got home on time and saved the life of this innocent girl. But,’ Little Joe lowered his voice to sound more convincingly.

‘But some day we can be too late. Thus, in my opinion, we should take some preventive measures. Snow White should be able to defend herself. From this day forward, I will train her. Aikido is quite suitable in this case, don’t you think so?’

Little Joe and Snow White spent all evening practicing the martial art. On the seventh day of their practice, Snow White knew basic techniques and could attack easily.

When the Queen came next time, dressed like a merchant again, Snow White had no trouble to lay her down. That time the Queen tried to sell a poisoned comb to her step-daughter. By the way she fell down right on the comb, dropped down at her feet. And one more thing! The dwarf, who was so keen on aikido, appeared to be an enchanted Japanese prince. And they lived happily ever after!