This A2 Elementary retelling of Snow-White and Rose-Red keeps the plot clear for learners while still giving the story some atmosphere and momentum. Once upon a time, there were two sisters named Snow-White and Rose-Red. They lived in a small cottage with their mother.
This version is written for English-speaking learners and includes clickable word help inside the story, full story audio, and lesson notes after the reading. It is free to use on Yak Yacker and is designed to feel natural, readable, and manageable in English.
Once upon a time, there were two sisters named Snow-White and Rose-Red. They lived in a small cottage with their mother. The cottage had a garden with two rose bushes: one with white roses and one with red. The girls were kind and helped each other. 'We are best friends,' Rose-Red often said. 'Forever,' Snow-White answered.
One winter evening, there was a . 'Who is there?' asked the mother. A said, 'I am a cold, hungry bear. Please let me in.' The mother opened the door. A big, brown bear stood outside. 'Do not be afraid,' said the bear. 'I only want to get warm.' The girls were scared at first, but then they saw the bear's . They let him in and gave him food.
The bear became their friend. Every evening he came to the cottage. The sisters played with him. They brushed his . 'Snow-White and Rose-Red, you are so kind,' the bear said. 'We love when you visit,' the girls said. All winter, the bear came. He told them stories about the . 'In spring, I must ,' he said. 'Why?' asked Rose-Red. 'I have to my treasure from a bad dwarf,' the bear explained.
When spring came, the bear said goodbye. 'Please be careful,' said Snow-White. The bear walked into the forest. The girls felt sad. One day, they went walking in the woods. They saw a little man with a long white beard. He was under a tree. 'Help me!' he cried. 'Stupid girls, !' The sisters pulled him free, but he was not thankful. 'You pulled my beard!' he shouted. Then he picked up a bag of gold and .
Some days later, the sisters went to the river. They saw the same dwarf again. This time, his beard was in a fishing line. 'Help me, you silly girls!' he said. Snow-White took out her scissors and the beard. 'You cut my beautiful beard!' the dwarf screamed. He took a bag of and disappeared.
Not long after, the sisters saw the dwarf one more time. An eagle was flying away with his bag of . 'Help! The bird is my treasure!' he shouted. The sisters scared the eagle away, and it dropped the bag. 'You are useless!' the dwarf said. Then a big bear came out of the trees. It was their friend! The bear at the dwarf. 'Please don't hurt me! Take the gold, just don't kill me!' the bad dwarf cried. But the bear hit the dwarf, and the dwarf fell down and never moved again.
Suddenly, the bear's fur fell away. A handsome prince stood before them. 'I was under a ,' he said. 'The bad dwarf turned me into a bear. He my treasure. Now I am free!' Snow-White and the prince . Rose-Red fell in love with the prince's brother. They all got married and lived happily in the prince's castle. And the two rose bushes grew there, one white and one red.
Two sisters, Snow-White and Rose-Red, lived with their mother in a cottage with a garden that had a white rose bush and a red rose bush. They were kind and best friends.
One winter evening, a bear knocked on the door. He was cold and hungry. The mother let him in. The girls were scared at first, but after seeing his kind eyes, they let him warm up and gave him food.
The bear became their friend and visited every evening. The girls played with him and brushed his fur. He told them stories. In spring, he had to leave to protect his treasure from a bad dwarf.
In spring, the bear left. The girls were sad. In the woods, they found a dwarf stuck under a tree. They pulled him out, but he was ungrateful, yelled at them, grabbed his gold, and ran off.
Later, by the river, the dwarf's beard got caught in a fishing line. Snow-White cut it free, but he screamed at her, grabbed his pearls, and vanished.
Again, an eagle stole the dwarf's jewels. The girls made the eagle drop the bag, but the dwarf insulted them. Then their bear friend appeared. He killed the dwarf.
The bear turned into a prince. The dwarf had cursed him. Snow-White married the prince, and Rose-Red married his brother. They lived happily ever after.
Let's look at some useful words from the story. Learning them will help you talk about the tale and use them in your own sentences.
- cottage: a small house, usually in the countryside. 'The girls lived in a small cottage.'
- beard: the hair on a man's chin and cheeks. 'The dwarf had a long white beard.'
- treasure: a collection of valuable things, like gold and jewels. 'The bear protected his treasure.'
- spell: magic words that change someone or something. 'The prince was under a spell.'
The story uses the past simple to talk about finished actions. Many verbs are regular (add -ed), but some are irregular. Notice how we form negative and question sentences.
- Regular verbs: live → lived, play → played, shout → shouted.
- Irregular verbs: say → said, see → saw, come → came, fall → fell.
- Negative: The dwarf was *not* thankful. They *didn't* see the bear at first.
- Questions: 'Why *did* you come?' 'Who was there?'
The characters use simple, polite language to ask for help or show feelings. You can use these phrases in real life.
- "Please let me in!" - You can say this when you need to enter a room or a house.
- "Do not be afraid." - This is a way to calm someone who is scared.
- "I only want to..." - Use this to explain you have a simple need, like 'I only want to get warm.'
- "You are so kind." - A nice way to thank someone for being helpful.
Now you know some new words and grammar. Try to retell the story in your own words. You can also write a sentence about your best friend or a time you helped someone. Keep reading and listening to English stories to build your skills!
Snow-White and Rose-Red comes from the German / Grimm tradition and is best known as a fairy tale. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on Grimm/traditional; public domain, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.
Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. The original audience was usually kids, but this version is adapted for A2 Elementary learners studying English. Distinct from Snow White; good animal/family story.
If you want to look into the source tradition, start with Project Gutenberg.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our English section and review the A2 English Vocabulary List. After that, try English Root Words and Prefixes for another useful next step.
