Sunset had come and gone, leaving the little cottage in the woods the only source of light. Lit by a few candles and the fireplace. Snow White carried a candle as she checked on her dinner. It was simmering along and smelled lovely. But as Snow White looked about she noticed the stairs again. She’d been so preoccupied with cleaning and cooking and gardening and berry picking, she’d forgotten the second story altogether. She took up the candle holder and went to the stairs. Staring up to the second story, she took a few more steps up and held the candle aloft.

  “Let’s see what’s upstairs.” She whispered to her friends. Holding up her skirts, Snow White began ascending the stairs. Behind her, the critters followed her up, hesitant to know what was up the stairs. A solid wooden door stood closed at the top of the stairs. Snow White slowly opened the door and let in the light of the candle.

  “Oh!” She said, wandering into the middle of the room where small beds surrounded her. “What adorable little beds! And… They have their names carved on them.” She held up the candle to look at the intricately carved beds.

  “Doc, Happy, Sneezy, Dopey.” Snow White read and shook her head. “What funny names for children.” She switched the candle to her other hand and looked at the remaining three beds.

  “Grumpy, Bashful, Sleepy.” She said, the strain of her eyes reading in the low light reminded her how tired she was. “I’m a little sleepy myself.” Snow White yawned and stretched despite herself. She put the candle down on the shelf.

  “I suppose a little rest wouldn’t hurt.” She said, sitting on the nearest bed. It was so comfortable, whether it was because of the materials or how tired she was didn’t matter. Snow White fell back, only to stretch, but it didn’t matter her intent. For once her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.

  The baby bluebird flew over and snuffed out the candle. A team of song birds took up the covers and tucked in Snow White. Every critter finding their place in the beds and corners.

  A thrumming sound hummed into the windows. Alerting all the critters. Their ears perked and quickly they rushed to the open window. They saw the light and heard the voices singing and quickly ran down the stairs in a stampede. Running for the cover of the woods.

  Marching down the road in a single line, chanting their tune.. The eldest first in the line and holding the lantern and the youngest at the back, carrying one as well. They whistled along until the eldest jumped.

  “LOOK!” He shouted. Stopping the line and causing all his brothers to crash into them. “Our lit’s light! Eh. The Light’s lit!” They jumped into the cover of the woods and looked out at the clearing. Its windows were lit and the chimney was smoking.

  “The door is open!”

  “The chimney’s smoking!”

  “Something’s in there!”

  “A ghost?”

  “Or a goblin!”

  “Or a dragon!”

  The dwarves all crowded together again, the second eldest turned.

  “There’s trouble a-brewin. Been feeling it all day!” He said, he looked down to his feet before stomping his boot. “See? My joints hurt.” A hushed gasp fell over the younger brothers, the eldest looked at the instigator disappointedly.

  “It’s a real bad sign.” Said one with a whimper. “What did we do? What DO we do?”

  “We sneak up on it!” Said one of the youngest.

  “Yes, we’ll uh, squeak up, ah. Sneak up! C’mon hen, er, men.” The eldest flinched before creeping to the edge of the trees. “Follow me.” The dwarves took up their tools and started sneaking up toward their cottage. Creeping up to the windows and looking in, rounding into the door and looking into the living space.

  “Psst.” The eldest said and gestured to the open door. He pushed it open with a haunting creak. Big enough all the brothers could peek in.

  “Shh,” the eldest said before slowly tip-toeing in. Everyone falling into step behind him. Tools raised for whatever danger was waiting. The youngest came in with a skip, grabbing the door and tossing it shut behind him. The door shut and the rest of the brothers panicked. Rallying around each other with their tools, now weapons, raised to strike. But quickly they realized it was just their brother.

  “SHHH!” They chastised as a single voice. The youngest brother nodded and hushed the door as if it shut itself. Shaking his head, the eldest brought the rest in.

  “Spread out men,” He whispered. “Search every cook and nanny, eh,. Crook and fan.” He grit his teeth and clenched his fists. “Search everywhere!” The group split to investigate every nook and cranny. As the birds who didn’t get out in time watched from the rafters. The forest critters looked in from the windows. Waiting to see what happened next, but quickly hiding again when anyone came near the window.

  “Look!” The eldest finally said breathlessly. All the brothers looked at the eldest, pointing at the floor. “The floor’s been swept!”

  “And the chair’s been dusted!” said the second eldest, inspecting the chairs. Another pointed at the windows.

  “Our windows been washed!” He said.

  “All our cobwebs are missing.” Another said, looking around at the rafters. “And the spiders too.”

  “Why, wh-wh-wh,” the eldest stuttered. “The whole place is clean!”

  “There’s dirty work afoot.” His brother stated and the two nodded.

  “Our sink’s empty!” Said another from the kitchen. “Someone stole our dishes!”

  “They ain’t stole, they’re hid in the cupboard.” Said one of the youngest pointing up at the cupboard where all the dishes were washed and neatly stacked. Shyly, one of the younger boys walked over to the cupboard and reached up bringing down his favorite mug.

  “Someone washed my cup.” He said sadly, “All the sugar’s gone.” He looked sadly in the mug.

  “Aww. Don’t be sad,” his brother came over and took a deep breath. Then straightened. “Hey. I can breathe! Listen!” He took a deep breath, then smiled at his brother who smiled but still had the sadness of his loss in his eyes.

  “What’s that?” Said another, creeping toward the fireplace with his youngest brother. The cauldron lid trembled, letting out bits of steam. “Mm. Something’s cooking, smells good.” The two sniffed at the pot.

  “Should we?” He asked the youngest who grinned and nodded reaching for a stirring spoon hanging above the fireplace.

  “Hey!” The second eldest snapped. Rushing over to stop them. “Don’t you fools! Could be poison!” The cauldron lid opened and hissed angrily, causing the brothers to jump back.

  “See. Witches brew.” The elder brother said. The two youngest nodded.

  “Well, then, wh-wh-why’s the table set?” The eldest asked. “Just look at the stable, er. Table.” The two brothers by the cupboard wandered over. The shyest put his cup down and lit up at the sight of fresh flowers on the table.

  “Look! Flowers!” He said, plucking them from the vase to smell them. “Goldenrod!” He thrust them to his brother’s face who shoved them away.

  “No! Don’t! My nose! Hay fever! I can’t stnad. I ca-ahn. I” He gasped and stuttered as a sneeze started to build.

  “No!” His brothers hissed before pouncing on him. Holding his nose until he let a loud sigh out.

  “Thanks.” He said, still very stuffy. Everyone started going back to their investigation when all of a sudden the sneeze came hard and fast. Sounding like the blast of gunpowder.

  “SHHH!”

  “Sorry.”

  “Fine time to sneeze.” Said the second eldest, shaking his head.

  “I can’t help it. When you gotta, you gotta!” The dwarf said. “You know how bad my allergies can get.”

  “We don’t know what’s in here, you wanna get us all killed?” His brother asked. Up in the rafters the bluebirds watched all the madness. They looked up at the staircase and wondered how long it was going to take for the dwarves to go up there on their own. They looked at eachother and came to the same conclusion. They started pecking at the rafters making a thudding sound that echoed through the room.

  The dwarven brothers huddled together and looked up into the rafters but saw nothing but the shadows cast by their own candles.

  “Wh-wh-wh-what was that?” Asked one of the brothers.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “That’s it” Whispered the eldest.

  “It’s close.”

  “It’s in this very room.”

  The bluebirds grinned at each other. Then altogether they let out an ear piercing shriek that sent the dwarves scrambling for whatever hiding place they could find. They hid until the silence lured them back out. The eldest lit a candle and crept to the base of the stairs. Looking up to the second story.

  “I-I-I think it’s up there.” The eldest said pointing up to the bedroom.

  “Yeah in the bedroom,” Nodded one of his brothers. The clan crowded together for safety.

  “Uh, right. Uh. One of us has to go down and chase it up. Er, uh.” The eldest grit his teeth and shook his head, “Ah, Up and then down.” The men looked from one another and then all their eyes settled on the youngest. The youngest nodded and looked behind him to see who was standing behind him, only to find there was no one behind him. The realization made him double take before turning to run.

  “Now wait a minute!” The eldest said before his other brothers caught him. They held him and carried him to the bottom step. Where the eldest came again to offer him the candle.

  “Here, take it.” The eldest held out the candle but his hand was shaking so badly it was hard for the youngest to take it. “Don’t be nervous.” Finally the eldest grabbed his brother’s hand and put the candle holder into it. Then he was pushed up the stairs. He found himself trembling as he started up the stairs. Halfway up the stairs, a step creaked and he nearly jumped off the staircase altogether. He turned to the bottom floor where his brothers were waiting.

  “Go on, we’re right behind you.” his oldest brother said. The rest nodded and echoed the sentiment. The youngest nodded but still trembled as he climbed the rest of the stairs. At the top, he found the door already open. He thrust the candle in first, looking into the dark bedroom. He pushed the door open all the way and his light illuminated the beds, where a giant monster hissed and drew up from the bed covers. Its gnarly shadow extended up over the ceiling.

  The dwarven brother let out a terrified wail and flung the candle. Fleeing down the stairs and colliding with his brothers. Turning them all into a tangled, chaotic mess of fright. As each dwarf detangled themselves, they flew out of the cottage door. But in the hustle and bustle their youngest brother was left behind. He heard a creak in the floorboards and in his panic he was sure that it was the monster that was coming down the stairs to get him. He grabbed the door handle and pulled with all the strength he had. Finding it stuck tight. He had no way of knowing that it was stuck tight due to the combined strength of his six brothers, equally terrified, holding it shut.

  It was a tug of war that could have gone on for who knows how long, but the door itself couldn’t withstand the forces exerted. The handle broke, splintering a hole in the door and sending the youngest brother tumbling backward.

  He stumbled up, having hit the wall and knocking a pile of coats onto his head, and he ran out the door and into the trees. Not realizing his brothers were ready to ambush the monster they believed to be chasing them. Once in sight, the dwarves pounced onto the mess of coats. Beating it senseless.

  “Hold it men!” The eldest popped up. He ripped the strange cloak off and revealed their youngest brother. “It-it-it’s only Dopey!”

  “Did you see it?”

  “How big was it?”

  “Was it a dragon??”

  “Has it got horns?”

  “Was it breathing fire?”

  “Was it drooling?”

  The rapid fire questions from every side had the youngest brother, Dopey, turning his head and nodding and trying to keep up and answer every question.

  “What was it doing?” The eldest spun him around to face him. Dopey nodded before putting his hands together and resting on them. Miming sleep.

  “It’s a… a monster! Asleep in our beds!” The eldest said, astonished.

  “Let’s attack!”

  “While it’s sleeping!”

  “Yeah!”

  The dwarven brothers turned to a dwarven mob. Cheering for the destruction of the monster. They took up their weapons and crept back to the cottage. All was silent inside, just as it had been, though now with a broken door. They filtered in one by one and up the stairs. The bedroom door was still ajar, they pushed it open enough for them all to see into the gloom. The bed covered rumbled and drew up. Every dwarf held their breath until the blankets stilled again.

  “Jiminy Cricket,”

  “What a monster!”

  “Covering three beds!”

  “Let’s get it before it wakes up.”

  “Which end?”

  “Both!”

  The eldest led his brothers to the occupied beds. Fanning them out to cover every side. The eldest held up his hand, lifting it to prepare his brothers to strike. Weapons lifted into the air and with a swift swipe, the blankets were flipped back.

  The dwarves didn’t strike. Instead they were struck. Underneath the blanket was no monster, but a young girl. A collective sigh came from every brother as they lowered their weapons.

  “Well.” The eldest whispered, tapping his fingertips together relieved. “I-i-i-it’s a girl.”

  “She’s mighty pretty.” Whispered another.

  “Like a little angel.”

  “An angel!? Do angels break into peoples’ houses?” The second eldest snapped. “She could still be wicked!”

  “Shush! Not so loud, you’ll wake her up!” The eldest hissed,

  “Good! Let her wake up!” His brother snapped, voice only getting louder. “She don’t belong here anyhow!”

  “SHH!”

  The noise had the young Snow White stirring.

  “Watch out!”

  “She’s moving!”

  “She’s waking up!”

  “Hide!”

  The dwarves hit the ground just out of sight as Snow White sits up and stretches,

  “Oh, I must’uve dozed off.” Snow White yawned. The dwarves slowly started to rise, looking at her to see what she would do. “I wonder if the children are…” Snow White noticed the movement and looked at the eyes staring at her. She cried out and pulled up the blankets to protect her but when the dwarves dove back to the ground Snow White slowly started to relax. The men rose again and Snow White got a good look at them all.

  “Why… you’re not children. You’re men.” She said astounded. They all looked at each other in confusion. “Well. How do you do?” The dwarven brothers only stared at Snow White, she looked around again.

  “I said. How do you do?” She said again a bit more forcefully.

  “How do you do what?” The second eldest brother crossed his arms, Snow White let out a chuckle.

  “Oh good, for a second there, I thought you didn’t understand me!” She laughed. She looked at them all. “Don’t tell me who you are. I want to guess.” She looked at them all. Settling on the eldest, looking at his nervous fidgeting and glasses.

  “Let’s see, you’re Doc! Right?” She pointed and he laughed.

  “Wh-wh-why yes! Yes I am!” he grinned. Snow White continued looking around. Finding one who’s cheeks got redder and redder the longer she looked at him.

  “And you. You’re Bashful.” She smiled and he giggled and tried to hide behind his beard before hiding on the ground again. She kept looking around and found one yawning so hard his eyes were filling with tears. “You must be Sleepy.”

  “Huh?” The yawning dwarf said, opening an eye. He grinned. “Oh, how’d you guess?” Snow White shared a laugh with the brothers before a sniffling caught her attention.

  “Sneezy?” She asked before his brothers covered his nose and stopped the sneeze short.

  “Whew, Y-” But before Sneezy could answer he immediately sneezed like the firing of a cannon. It made Snow White jump. Laughter rang out and Snow White spied where the majority of the laughter came from. His laughter was infectious.

  “You must be-”

  “The Happy man! That’s me!” He laughed. He then pointed to the youngest brother. “This is Dopey, he don’t speak none.”

  “You mean he can’t?” Snow White asked.

  “He don’t know, he never tried.” Happy laughed while Dopey smiled and nodded along.

  “Oh no, that’s too bad.” She shook her head, unable to help laughing as Happy burst into laughter again. She looked at all the brothers, wondering who she missed when she looked at the second eldest. Arms crossed and glaring at her.

  “Oh.” She said knowingly. Deepening her voice and mimicking his pose. “You must be Grumpy.” The dwarven brothers burst out into laughter again.

  “Yeah! You got it!” Happy laughed. Sneezy hit Grumpy on the back in an attempt to get him to join the merriment. But it didn’t work, instead he turned to Doc.

  “We know who we are!” He snapped, ending the laughter. “Ask her who she is and what’s she thinks she’s doing here!”

  “Oh yes of course. What are you and who are you- ah no.” Doc shook his head. “What wh-wh. Ah. Who. Who are you, my dear?”

  “Oh how silly of me.” Snow White said, “I’m Snow White.”

  “SNOW WHITE!” The men said. “The Princess?” Snow White looked about in shock.

  “Y-yes!” She said, pleasantly surprised. “Is my kingdom well known around here?”

  “Everyone’s heard of the good king,” Bashful said.

  “It’s why we came out this way.” Sleepy said. “This kingdom’s rich in mountains and riches. Perfect for dwarves.”

  “Dwarves?” Snow White said. “I think I’ve heard of those kingdoms.”

  “Y-y-yes and my dead quincess-eh no. Princess. We’re uh. We’re honored” Doc said. Bowing as he said so. “We’re, we’re”

  “Mad as hornets!” Grumpy interjected.

  “We’re mad as hornets.” Doc said before realizing what he said. “No. No we’re not. We’re bad no, we, we. What was I saying!?”

  “Nothing!” Grumpy snapped, pushing his older brother. “You’re just standing there sputtering!”

  “Sp-sp-sputtering!” Doc said pushing his younger brother. “Who’s buttering, rutter, tutter”

  “YOU!” Grumpy stomped. “Now shut up and warn her to get out!”

  “Please don’t send me away!” Snow White finally interjected. Clasping her hands together. “If she finds me, she’ll hurt me!”

  “What? Hurt you?” Bashful asked in alarm.

  “Who’d want to do a thing like that?” Happy asked.

  “My stepmother, the Queen.” Snow White said sadly. “She tried to kill me, that’s how I ended up here.”

  “The Queen!?” The dwarves then began shaking their heads.

  “Evil.”

  “Wicked”

  “Mighty mean!”

  “An old witch!” Grumpy said, interrupting the chorus. “If the Queen finds her here, she’ll swoop down and wreak her vengeance on every one of us!”

  “She doesn’t know where I am.” Snow White smiled. Grumpy looked at her closely.

  “No? She knows everything.” Grumpy said. “She’s filled with black magics. She can even make herself invisible! She could be with us in this very room.” Snow White looked around before giggling.

  “I think that’s nothing but a bunch of rumors.” She said. “Besides, if you let me stay, I’ll keep house for you. I’ll wash and sew and sweep and cook-”

  “COOK!”

  “C-can you make dapple lumkins? Lumple dapplins?” Doc tried to speak but was too excited to speak right.

  “APPLE DUMPLINGS!” His brothers all corrected.

  “Yes! Crapple dumpkins!” Doc asked, stars in his eyes.

  “Yes! And plum puddings and gooseberry pies-” Snow White was interrupted by the cheer.

  “Hooray, She stays!” The dwarves all shouted.

  “Yes, and when our new home is done, you can keep the cottage.” Doc said.