Sunday, February 3, 2008

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Inverted Pyramid Exercise

Please write an 8 to 10 paragraph news story, using the inverted pyramid style, based on the following synopsis of the Snow White fairy tale.

Once upon a time, a queen was staring outside her window at the beautiful snow. It was because of her distracted state that she pricked her finger on her needle and a drop of blood promptly fell on some snow that had fallen on her windowsill. As she looked at the blood on the snow she said to herself, "Oh, how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony." Soon after that, the queen gave birth to a baby girl who had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. They named her Princess Snow White. The queen soon died, perhaps in childbirth.
Soon after, the king took a new wife who was beautiful, but very vain, and who possessed supernatural powers. She also possessed a magical mirror, to whom she would often ask, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is fairest of them all?" and to which the mirror would always reply, "'tis you". But after Snow White became seven (which is the official age wherein a girl becomes a maiden) when she asked her mirror, it responded, "Queen, you are full fair, 'tis true, But Snow White is fairer than you."
The Queen was jealous, and ordered a huntsman to take Snow White into the woods to be killed. She demanded that the huntsman return with Snow White's heart as proof. The huntsman took Snow White into the forest, but found himself unable to kill the girl. Instead, he let her go, and brought the queen the heart of a young deer.
“I just couldn’t do it,” he said. “I realized I could save Snow White’s life and my own, by tricking the queen with this animal heart.”
In the forest, Snow White discovered a tiny cottage belonging to seven dwarfs, where she rested. Meanwhile, the Queen asked her mirror once again, "Who's the fairest of them all?", and was horrified when the mirror told her that Snow White, who was alive and well and living with the dwarfs, was still the fairest of them all.

Three times the Queen disguised herself and visited the dwarfs' cottage trying to kill Snow White. First, disguised as a peddler, the Queen offered colorful stay-laces and laced Snow White up so tight that she fainted, and the Queen took her for dead. Snow White was revived by the dwarfs when they loosened the laces. Next, the Queen dressed as a different old woman and combed Snow White's hair with a poisoned comb. Snow White again collapsed, and again the dwarfs saved her. Lastly the Queen made a poisoned apple, and in the disguise of a countrywoman offered it to Snow White. She was hesitant, saying “I’ve had a few bad experiences with strangers lately so I’m unable to accept your kind offer. But the disguised Queen managed to persuade Snow White; she cut the apple in half, ate the white part — which had no poison — and gave the poisoned red part to Snow White, who ate the apple eagerly and immediately fell into a deep stupor. When the dwarfs found her, they could not revive her, so they placed her in a glass coffin, thinking that she had died.
Time passed, and a prince travelling through the land saw Snow White in her coffin. The prince was enchanted by her beauty and instantly fell in love with her. He begged the dwarfs to let him have the coffin. The prince said, “I know you care about her. Please believe that I will dote on her beauty as she deserves and give her the finest funeral in the land.” The prince's servants carried the coffin away. While doing so, they stumbled on some bushes and the movement caused the piece of poisoned apple to dislodge from Snow White's throat, awakening her. The prince then declared his love and soon a wedding was planned.
The vain Queen, still believing that Snow White was dead, again asked her mirror who was fairest in the land and yet again the mirror disappointed her by responding that, "You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But the young queen is a thousand times fairer than you."
Not knowing that this new queen was indeed her stepdaughter, she arrived at the wedding, and her heart filled with the deepest of dread when she realized the truth.
As punishment for her wicked ways, a pair of heated iron shoes were brought forth with tongs and placed before the Queen. She was then forced to step into these and dance until she fell down dead.

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