In winter, heavy snow falls, and the snowflakes dye the earth with a layer of silver.
In the Principality of Saxony, in the manor house of Knight Langco.
The fire on the fireplace was burning brightly, and the heat emanating from it warmed the entire room.
A long table with a historical feel is placed in the middle of the room.
Three women are sitting at the table.
The woman at the top is a middle-aged woman in gorgeous clothes and a thick fox fur. She has thin lips and cold eyes, full of meanness.
In front of her, there was a basin of milky white milk for washing her face, a glass of bright red wine, and a plate of toasted and fragrant yellow bread.
Next to this woman, there is a young woman, also wearing luxurious clothes. Although she is somewhat beautiful, her face is full of arrogance and pride, which makes people feel disgusted at the first sight. In front of her,
Warm milk, wine, and yellow bread were also placed.
Diagonally opposite this woman, there was a girl sitting upright.
The girl lowered her head, her clothes were a little old, and patches could still be seen. In front of her, there were a basin of water, a glass of water, and a pitiful amount of black bread.
This girl just ate the black bread in small bites without saying a word. She occasionally raised her head and took a sip of water. Only then did people catch a glimpse of her beautiful appearance. Seeing her cautious appearance made people feel pity for her.
But among these people, the middle-aged woman sitting at the top is definitely not included.
She looked at the pretty girl, the coldness in her eyes getting stronger and stronger. Finally, after taking a sip of wine, she couldn't help but said, "Sophie!"
"Oh! Yes, mother!" When the beautiful girl called Sophie heard the middle-aged woman's voice, she looked up like a frightened little rabbit in a panic and looked at the woman with a little fear.
.
If time could be repeated, a few years ago, she would not have agreed to her father marrying this woman into his family.
However, her father is gone, so her regrets are of no use.
This woman is now the legitimate mistress of the family.
This mean middle-aged woman took out a paper-thin coat from somewhere, threw it to Sophie casually, like a charity, and then said, "Listen, you put on this coat and go
Pick me a basket of blueberries from the forest, I want to eat them!"
"Oh my god!" Sophie opened her eyes wide. "How can there be blueberries in winter? The ground is covered with ice and heavy snow has covered everything. Besides, how can I go out wearing such thin clothes? It's cold outside.
Even the breath you exhale will freeze. The wind will blow into the clothes and the thorns will tear them."
The middle-aged woman became angry and glared at Sophie fiercely, "You dare to talk back to me? Go away! If you don't pick a basket of strawberries, don't even think about coming back!"
Sophie's face suddenly showed a bitter look, and she looked at the young woman opposite her with pleading eyes, who looked like she was watching a good show, and said, "Mary, please, please, our mother, don't let me go out in such a cold weather.
!At least, until the weather gets a little warmer.”
The young girl named Mary raised a disdainful smile and said, "That's my mother, not your mother, Sophie, don't scream! Besides, my mother wants to eat blueberries, as her mother
My stepdaughter, after raising you for so long, shouldn’t you give something?”
"Raise?" Sophie was so aggrieved and speechless after hearing these shameless words. These things were originally her family's property, her dead father's property.
She couldn't help but think of the scene a few years ago when this middle-aged woman spoke to her kindly.
"Listen, tell your father that I am willing to marry him. From now on, you can wash your face with milk every morning and drink wine. My own daughter can only wash her face with water and drink pure water."
However, no matter how much you regret, time will never flow back.
The middle-aged woman, Sophie's stepmother, took a piece of hard black bread to Sophie and said coldly, "Don't say I treated you badly, now, this is your day's ration."
Sophie silently put the piece of hard black bread in her arms, lifted the basket, and then was kicked out of the house by the middle-aged woman and walked alone into the nearest forest.
The servants at home all looked at the young lady in distress with distressed expressions on their faces, but no one dared to take any actual action.
No one dares to learn from the methods of the mistress of the family!
It was icy and snowy outside, and not a single green grass was found.
The snowy wind was like a knife, and the knife scraped against Sophie's white and tender cheeks.
Sophie shivered as she walked in this white world.
Her whole body became colder and colder, her eyes became more and more confused, and her hands and feet became weaker and weaker.
Just when she could no longer hold on, suddenly, a small white house appeared in the forest in front of her.
There is a window in the wall of the house, and the window is open.
Through the window, Sophie saw three white-bearded dwarfs, less than two-thirds of her height, looking around.
Seeing Sophie, the three white-bearded dwarfs showed joy in their eyes and smiled at Sophie.
Sophie was extremely surprised. She was driven to work in the forest by her stepmother not once or twice, but she had never seen this house or these three white-bearded dwarves before.
But you can't lose your etiquette as a person. This is what her deceased father has always taught her.
The three white-bearded dwarves smiled at her, and Sophie also said hello to them, walked quickly to the small room, and knocked gently on the door.
The small room felt a little restrictive for Sophie, but at least it was still manageable.
The three white-bearded dwarves inside shouted "Come in", and Sophie walked in.
There was a burning stove in the small house, and there was a long stool next to the stove. The three dwarfs were sitting there, calling Sophie to sit over.
Sophie said thank you and walked away. She really needed this fire.
The temperature of the flame slowly drove away the chill from her body. Sophie felt extremely comfortable and her stomach rumbled.
Sophie then picked up her bun and baked it slowly by the stove.
When the dwarf saw it, he said, "Give some to us too."
"Okay!" Without any hesitation, Sophie divided the toasted soft bread into two halves and gave half to them.
The three dwarfs shared the bread Sophie took out equally, with satisfaction flashing in their eyes.
They asked Sophie, "Why are you wearing these thin clothes in the forest in the winter?"
Sophie had no doubt that she had it. When the three dwarves asked about it, she answered honestly, "I have to pick a basket of strawberries, otherwise I won't be able to get home."
"Oh!" The three dwarfs looked at each other and stopped talking.
After Sophie finished eating her bread, the three dwarfs handed Sophie a broom without ceremony and said, "Go help us sweep the snow off the back door."
Sophie was a kind-hearted girl, so she picked up the broom and walked towards the back door.
But after she went out, the three dwarfs started discussing: "She is so cute and gave us the bread. What should we give her?"
The first dwarf said: "My gift to her is that she becomes more beautiful every day."
The second dwarf said: "My gift to her is that she spits out gold as soon as she speaks."
The third dwarf said: "My gift to her is that a king will marry her as his queen."