English
Nowthen,letusbegin.Whenweareattheendofthestory,weshallknowmorethanweknownow:buttobegin.
Onceuponatimetherewasawickedsprite,indeedhewasthemostmischievousofallsprites.
Onedayhewasinaverygoodhumor,forhehadmadeamirrorwiththepowerofcausingallthatwasgoodandbeautifulwhenitwasreflectedtherein,tolookpoorandmean;butthatwhichwasgood–for–nothingandlookeduglywasshownmagnifiedandincreasedinugliness.
Inthismirrorthemostbeautifullandscapeslookedlikeboiledspinach,andthebestpersonswereturnedintofrights,orappearedtostandontheirheads;theirfacesweresodistortedthattheywerenottoberecognised;andifanyonehadamole,youmightbesurethatitwouldbemagnifiedandspreadoverbothnoseandmouth.
"That'sgloriousfun!"saidthesprite.
Ifagoodthoughtpassedthroughaman'smind,thenagrinwasseeninthemirror,andthespritelaughedheartilyathiscleverdiscovery.
Allthelittlespriteswhowenttohisschool—forhekeptaspriteschool—toldeachotherthatamiraclehadhappened;andthatnowonly,astheythought,itwouldbepossibletoseehowtheworldreallylooked.
Theyranaboutwiththemirror;andatlasttherewasnotalandorapersonwhowasnotrepresenteddistortedinthemirror.
Sothentheythoughttheywouldflyuptothesky,andhaveajokethere.
Thehighertheyflewwiththemirror,themoreterriblyitgrinned:theycouldhardlyholditfast.
Higherandhigherstilltheyflew,nearerandnearertothestars,whensuddenlythemirrorshooksoterriblywithgrinning,thatitflewoutoftheirhandsandfelltotheearth,whereitwasdashedinahundredmillionandmorepieces.
Andnowitworkedmuchmoreevilthanbefore;forsomeofthesepieceswerehardlysolargeasagrainofsand,andtheyflewaboutinthewideworld,andwhentheygotintopeople'seyes,theretheystayed;andthenpeoplesaweverythingperverted,oronlyhadaneyeforthatwhichwasevil.
Thishappenedbecausetheverysmallestbithadthesamepowerwhichthewholemirrorhadpossessed.
Somepersonsevengotasplinterintheirheart,andthenitmadeoneshudder,fortheirheartbecamelikealumpofice.
Someofthebrokenpiecesweresolargethattheywereusedforwindowpanes,throughwhichonecouldnotseeone'sfriends.
Otherpieceswereputinspectacles;andthatwasasadaffairwhenpeopleputontheirglassestoseewellandrightly.
Thenthewickedspritelaughedtillhealmostchoked,forallthistickledhisfancy.
Thefinesplintersstillflewaboutintheair:andnowweshallhearwhathappenednext.
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