Snow White's Cottage

A cloudy Saturday morning, a girl looking for adventure, fishing poles, and a little red wagon - perfect ingredients for a jaunt in the woods!

Our house here in Prague is just a short roll away from the forest - a novel idea for a kid raised in the desert climes of Oman! Sad to say, we didn't catch any fish from the duck pond. We did, however, find what Danna was quite sure was Snow White's cottage in the woods.

Many Czechs have a retreat in the country - a little place where they can escape from city life for the weekend. A chata is a little cottage - often located near a stream or in the forest, surrounded by flowers, fruit trees and garden vegetables. Danna's "Snow White Cottage" was one of these cottages - a stone's throw away from our house, and just the right size for a Princess and seven little men. The grass, still damp from last night's rain was spotted with mushrooms of all varieties. Mushroom picking is a national pasttime here, and it's a fairly common sight to see people returning to town on the metro, carrying baskets laden with their latest finds!

An apple tree drooped over the fence, dangling delicious apples within grabbing distance, and a brook gurgled just past the garden, planted with one of the largest pumpkins (or was it a squash?) I've ever seen! Neither Snow White, nor one of the dwarves actually peeked out the window (they've since moved to Disney World), but we could almost see their footprints on the little path!