“Snow White” is assigned KHM 53 in the Grimm collection. The number identifies its place in the Grimms’ Kinder- und Hausmärchen, or Children’s and Household Tales.
The Brothers Grimm included the tale in their collection under the German title “Schneewittchen.” Unlike some modern adaptations, the Grimm story centers on a jealous queen or stepmother who consults a talking mirror and orders a huntsman to kill Snow White. The girl escapes to the cottage of seven dwarfs, where the queen later tries to destroy her with a poisoned apple.
The tale’s KHM number is often confused with numbers belonging to other famous Grimm stories. “Rapunzel” is KHM 12, while “Rumpelstiltskin” is KHM 55. Disney’s 1937 animated film helped make Snow White globally familiar, but it substantially shapes how many readers remember details that originated differently in the Grimm text.