Mirror! Mirror!

Once there was a girl who went camping with her family.  In the night, while lying in her tent, she couldn’t sleep and peeped out of the tent.  Something flickered in the distance as she moved her head.  Now, she was one brave but naughty girl so she slid out and went toward the flicker.

“Why, this is such a beautiful mirror!” she cried as she held the mirror that was shining due to moonlight.  Surprisingly, it was not at all dirty but she didn’t notice and took it back into her camp.

In the morning, when she got up, her mother asked her to tidy the camp and come out for breakfast.

“I wish it was tidy” she grumbled.

Lo and behold, a light swooshed out of the magic mirror and the camp was as clean as a whistle. She picked up the mirror and looked into it.  She couldn’t see her image in it but instead it was still shining like the moon and had number 2 visible in the center.

“Oh no! What if someone sees my mirror!  Then they’ll have their wish fulfilled. I must hide this mirror.” And she hid it in her backpack.

“Oh! She heard her mother from outside. I think I forgot Jamie’s favorite boots at home.” She heard her mother when she was tying her shoe laces, getting ready for their trekking up the mountain. For a moment, she thought she’d use the mirror for her brother Jamie had bought those boots especially for the camping.

“No, no… I mustn’t waste my wishes.”  Instead, she wished her boots to change into one of those beautiful boots she had seen in the shop but were too expensive for her parents to buy. Now only number 1 was visible.  “So I’ve got only one wish left.” She murmured and put the mirror back in her bag.

When she came out of her camp, she saw her brother sulking.  The girl felt very bad.  But still couldn’t make herself use it for someone else.  All the way, she was thinking what she should ask the mirror.  The jewelry she wanted, or perhaps a beautiful dress, she just couldn’t settle for one thing.

At the sound of laughter, she looked around, they had reached a beautiful natural spring and her father was showing them how to catch fish in the shallow water.  She had failed to enjoy the trekking and her vacation was being ruined.  Suddenly, she hated the mirror and decided to throw it away in the water.  She heard a scream.  Her father had slipped and was unable to stop himself from flowing with the water. Her mother was desperately trying to help him.

“I wish my father was safe” she wished and held her brother.  As the words escaped her lips, her father caught hold of a branch and got himself on the land. He was safe.  She opened her back pack to look at the mirror, but there wasn’t any mirror.