The looking glass

The moon was just rising when the looking-glass woke up in the garden. The children had forgotten it when they ran indoors to avoid getting soaked by a squall. A single drop trickled into the grass and the looking-glass felt cold, for there was not much warmth in the air.»The dew will mist me over completely,« it thought aloud, as the hedgehog came grunting past at just that moment: »I have never seen you before, what sort of chap are you?«»I’m the one you behold,« the looking-glass said, »can’t you take me to a place with some warmth?«The hedgehog put his warm snout close to the looking-glass, for he was rather near-sighted: »Oh no, you look as if you might sting me.« And then he went off grunting.After a while, a black cat slipped by and felt the cold looking-glass against her fur: »Listen, what sort of fellow are you and what are you doing here?«»I’m the one you behold,« the looking-glass replied, »I’m looking for some warmth. Can’t you take me along?«»Oh no, you just want to ingratiate yourself wherever you go,« the cat purred, and then she disappeared.Finally, the fox came prowling at the edge of the garden. He spotted the looking-glass first and stalked up on it from behind, until he was breathing down its neck: »Who are you, who dares to lie on this lawn in the middle of the night?«»I’m the one you behold,« the looking-glass said, »I’ve been forgotten and am just waiting for some warmth.« But it had misted over completely from the breath of the fox, so there was nothing to see.»This is a sly fellow,« the fox thought, »it’s sure to cheat me.« He retreated a little, screwed up one eye and said: »I know where there is warmth, wait here a moment.« Then he ran away, not intending to return.For a long time, the looking-glass lay there trying to recall how it had toyed with the sunlight and played ball with its rays. In the meantime, the moon was rising and it was now right above the garden. It was still just a half-moon and it peered around searchingly.Suddenly it caught sight of the looking-glass: »Hey, I don’t know you. I know the fox and the cat and I know the short-sighted hedgehog. But who are you?«»I’m the one you behold,« the looking-glass said, still misted over from the breath of the fox, »and somebody is probably looking for me right now.« It was mostly thinking of that the children were bound to miss their looking-glass and that the fox was bringing back some warmth.The moon came a little closer and looked deeply into the looking-glass. It saw what was behind the veil. »But that is my other half!« the moon cried happily, »I’ve been looking for that for more than a week.« It took the looking-glass and rose up to where the sun could shine on everything.»Oho, here is the sun,« the looking-glass just had time to think as the dew evaporated from its surface. And at that very moment it cast the rays of the sun straight into the eye of the moon.»Ouch!« cried the moon and realized it had been cheated by the looking-glass. And the moon flung it to the ground with such force that it shattered into a thousand pieces.And to this very day, it still stings when you walk bare-footed.