Years ago, there was a sweet and cute little girl who lived in a village far away from the city. Everyone liked the little girl, because she was so sweet and cute. She used to be smart and witty. But as the years passed by, the little girl grew up and married the wood chopper’s son, who she thought to be her prince charming. The little girl grew into an old and wrinkled lady. Each passing season the old lady grew more wrinkled and discontented with life. The man she married cared more about chopping wood than being with her. In the evening he wouldn’t come home, instead he would play games with his fellow wood choppers.
In her mind the old wrinkled lady saw herself as vibrant and cute. But her heart grew dark and cold because her prince charming was spending time elsewhere. She would tell herself that he needed to spend time chopping wood with the other wood choppers. So her loneliness eroded her heart and the wrinkle old lady developed a hole in her soul.
One day the wrinkled old lady decided to go to the city and visit the shops. While she was walking passed the shop windows, she came upon a mirror shop. She hadn’t looked into a mirror before, and wandered into the store. The shop keeper greeted her in a friendly manner. “How may I help you?” Said the shop keeper. “Oh, I couldn’t help but notice your mirrors.” said the wrinkled lady. She saw a mirror that had a pretty frame and purchased the mirror. The mirror salesman was kind and helpful. “I hope you see everything perfectly in your mirror.” Said the mirror salesman, in a cheerful voice.
The wrinkled lady arrived home with her new mirror, hung it on the wall and looked into it. As she gazed into the mirror, she was appalled by what she saw. The face looking back at her was old and furrowed and very frightening for the wrinkled old lady to behold. She closed her eyes tight and opened them to gaze at the image in the mirror. The wrinkle old lady gasped. “This is the most hideous thing I have ever seen” she thought to herself. All at once she glared at the mirror, “That no good mirror salesman sold me a broken mirror” she said to herself. Immediately the wrinkle old lady took the mirror off the wall and bunched the wrapping paper around it. “It’s his fault”, she screeched, “I’m taking this mirror back.”
The very next day the wrinkled old lady marched into the city, right to the mirror shop. “I demand a refund for this mirror.” She demanded. “It’s broke.” The kind mirror salesman asked in a concerned voice, “What’s wrong with the mirror?” The wrinkled old lady said, “It makes me look hideous.” The kind mirror salesman in his wisdom knew that it wasn’t the mirror that was defective. So to make things right, the kind mirror salesman exchanged the mirror for another more beautiful one, with a gilded frame and carved with fancy scrolls. “This mirror is far too expensive for me.” The wrinkled old lady complained. “That’s OK”, the mirror salesman reassured her, and “there is no extra cost.” So the kind mirror salesman carefully wrapped up the mirror for the wrinkled old lady to take home.
Upon arriving at her home, the wrinkled old lady rushed to the spot she hung the other mirror. She tore off the wrapping and hung up the new mirror. She ran her fingers around the edges of the gilded frame, admiring the fine craftsmanship. Her face was off to one side of the mirror. She closed her eyes and slowly moved to face the middle of the mirror. She snapped open her eyes and snapped her head back in terror. “This one is broken, too.” She screamed. “I look even uglier in this mirror. She cursed the mirror salesman, and began to tell lies about him. She vowed to destroy his life because it was him that made her so ugly. So that night she began to conjure up tales that would make all the other people hate the mirror salesman.
Her tales worked like a charm, and in no time the whole city ran the mirror sales man out of town. He was left with nothing. She felt good that she had ruined the mirror salesman. Her face had a look of dubious pride. She squinted and licked her lips. “That’ll teach that mirror salesman.” The wrinkled old lady thought to herself. But the image she saw in the mirror was there in her memory and wouldn’t go away. She ran into the dark closet, but it was still there. She began to cringe. She threw herself in her bed and covered her head under her pillow, but the frightening image wouldn’t go away.
Then one day the wood chopper arrived home. He found the wrinkled old lady huddled alone in a corner, weeping and sobbing. “What’s wrong?” asked the wood chopper. “I bought a mirror from the mirror salesman and I saw something very scary.” The wood chopper thought about what she had said. “Then what happened?” he asked her. “I went back to the city and took it back.” “Did that help?” the wood chopper asked. “He gave me a mirror that was more beautiful than the first one” cried the wrinkled old lady. “But did that help?” asked the wood chopper. “No, no, no!” she screamed. “So then what did you do?” he asked.
Then the wrinkled old lady picked up her head and grinned, “I ruined him.” She said with evil delight. “Well, I must say, it wasn’t the mirror that was broke.” He said in a correcting tone. The wrinkle old lady looked at him intently. “It’s your face. You’ve grown old and bitter.” The wood chopper’s axe was shiny and sharp. He lowered his axe so that she could see her reflection in the shiny part of the axe. She screamed in horror. “Now you know why I stay away chopping wood.” Now go back to the mirror salesman and tell the truth. Get him his business back.
***
The wrinkled old lady went back into the city the next morning. She began to tell everyone that she wasn’t honest about the mirror salesman. She admitted that she was angry because she grew old and wrinkled, that when she bought the mirror from the mirror salesman, it was the first time that she had a good look at herself. She didn’t like herself and took it out on the mirror salesman. She helped get the mirror shop opened again and helped restore the mirror salesman’s reputation.
The mirror salesman gave her mirror back. But he said, “You must give this mirror to someone who has never looked into a mirror before. Help them to see the truth in what the mirror reveals. Tell them not to be afraid of what they see.” So the wrinkled old lady began to find others who had never looked into a mirror before. She saw many people become bright and cheerful. She helped thousands of people. One day she realized the she hadn’t looked in her mirror in months. She slowly approached the mirror, keeping her eyes closed. Ever so carefully she opened her eyes, and to her surprise she saw a bright and cheerful elderly woman.