"I will run and fetch some one," said
Rose-red. "You senseless goose!" snarled the dwarf; "why should you
fetch some one? You are already two too many for me; can you not think
of something better?" "Don't be impatient," said Snow-white, "I will
help you," and she pulled her scissors out of her pocket, and cut off
the end of the beard.
As soon as the dwarf felt himself free he laid hold of a bag which lay
amongst the roots of the tree, and which was full of gold, and lifted
it up, grumbling to himself, "Uncouth people, to cut off a piece of my
fine beard. Bad luck to you!" and then he swung the bag upon his back,
and went off without even once looking at the children.
Some time after that Snow-white and Rose-red went to catch a dish of
fish. As they came near the brook they saw something like a large
grasshopper jumping towards the water, as if it were going to leap
in. They ran to it and found it was the dwarf. "Where are you going?" said
Rose-red; "you surely don't want to go into the water?" "I am not
such a fool!" cried the dwarf; "don't you see that the accursed fish
wants to pull me in?" The little man had been sitting there fishing,
and unluckily the wind had twisted his beard with the fishing-line;
just then a big fish bit, and the feeble creature had not strength to
pull it out; the fish kept the upper hand and pulled the dwarf towards
him.
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