Snow White,(in German,Schneewittchen,Snowdrop in their first edition[1]) is the title character in a fairy tale known from many places in Europe,the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm.The German version features elements such as the mirror and the seven dwarfs.
In the Aarne-Thompson folklore classification,they are grouped together as type 709,Snow White.Others of this type include Bella Venezia,Myrsina,Nourie Hadig,The Young Slave and Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree.[2]
In the many non-German versions the dwarfs are generally robbers,while the talking mirror is a dialog with the sun or moon.[citation needed] In a version from Albania,collected by Johann Georg von Hahn and published in Griechische und albanesische Märchen.Gesammelt,übersetzt und erläutert (1864),the main character lives with 40 dragons.[citation needed] The sleep is caused by a ring.The beginning of the story also has a twist in that a teacher urges the heroine to kill her own mother so that the teacher can take her place.The origin of the tale is debated; it is likely no older than the Middle Ages.