The tale of the queen and the mirror
Somewhere, by the shores of the Neverending Sea, loomed a fairy tale palace. An immeasurably rich queen lived in this palace. Only her whim and her vanity were more immeasurable than her richness. Earlier, the king had lived in the palace as well, but he became fed up with the queen's whim and vanity. He came up with the idea that – similarly to other kings of his time – he would like to hunt for lions. Since the nearest lion was some thousand miles away from the palace, he built a hunting lodge there, and moved into this lodge with his best friends. There they passed the time mainly feasting and playing cards, since they were actually afraid of lions and would have felt sorry for shooting any.
The king left the governing of his country to his trusted counselor (who had made all important decisions in the past anyway). The entire staff of the palace was left to the whim and pleasure of the queen. This caused immense toil and trouble for the hundreds of servants, gentlemen-in-arms and ladies-in-waiting, since there was no lack of the queen's pleasures, wills, and commands.
The favorite pastime of the queen, however, did not require any assistance. Actually, what she liked the most was to stand in front of the mirror and to admire her own beauty. As a matter of fact – we have to admit – the queen was extremely beautiful. That was the reason that the king, as a young prince, fell in love with her, unsuspecting the possible complications and side effects. The result of the tale is understood, and the king’s delusion might have had regretful consequences for the lions, but fortunately – and to the relief of the animal rights activists – they were not hurt.
One day, the queen was looking at herself in the mirror, as usual, when she suddenly got dismayed. She saw wrinkles around her eyes. She could not believe her eyes. She commanded that all lamps of the palace should be brought into the mirror room to see her image in full light. The brighter it became, the stronger her dismay grew. She began to see wrinkles around her mouth and on her neck, as well. This cannot go on anymore! This can only be the fault of the damned mirror. She had regarded it as her best friend until now, but it had turned against her! This was high treason that should be avenged right away.
"The mirror should be burned at the stake!" ordered the queen.
The servants immediately started to stack a huge woodpile in the courtyard of the palace. The mirror was tightly bound and placed into the middle of the woodpile. Then, the stake was lit.
The queen ordered her servants to place her most comfortable throne right before the stake so she could enjoy the destruction of her deceiving mirror close up. The woodpile started to burn in huge flames at first, and then turned into glowing embers, but the mirror stood steadfastly in the middle. The materials of the mirror are glass and silver, and they simply ignore the flames of wood.
The queen had a dozen more woodpiles stacked and tried to burn the outrageous mirror. She remained just as unsuccessful as at the first time. Or, not quite. The repeated burning deformed the mirror somewhat, and therefore, when the queen looked at it, a fiercely distorted mirror image looked back at her.
The queen rampaged.
"If all else fails, I'll destroy you with my bare hands!" she shouted.
She ran away and returned with the cruelest whip of her head torturer.
"I'll smash you, you squalid, crooked mirror!" cried the queen, and ran to the mirror flailing with the whip.
However, the logs of the woodpile smoldering around the mirror, although not doing much harm to the mirror, quickly ignited the queen and burned her to the ground within a few moments.
Everything happened so fast that the servants could not have helped their mistress even if they would have wanted. So, it is better not to dwell on whether they wanted to help or not.
The most mysterious thing, however, was that the distorted picture of the queen somehow got burned into the mirror, preserving it forever. The servants cleaned up the remains of the woodpiles and the queen, and they took back the mirror into the mirror room, where anybody desiring to get horrified could view it.
If you happen to be there and have enough courage, do not miss the opportunity to see it.
Somewhere, by the shores of the Neverending Sea, loomed a fairy tale palace. An immeasurably rich queen lived in this palace. Only her whim and her vanity were more immeasurable than her richness. Earlier, the king had lived in the palace as well, but he became fed up with the queen's whim and vanity. He came up with the idea that – similarly to other kings of his time – he would like to hunt for lions. Since the nearest lion was some thousand miles away from the palace, he built a hunting lodge there, and moved into this lodge with his best friends. There they passed the time mainly feasting and playing cards, since they were actually afraid of lions and would have felt sorry for shooting any.
The king left the governing of his country to his trusted counselor (who had made all important decisions in the past anyway). The entire staff of the palace was left to the whim and pleasure of the queen. This caused immense toil and trouble for the hundreds of servants, gentlemen-in-arms and ladies-in-waiting, since there was no lack of the queen's pleasures, wills, and commands.
The favorite pastime of the queen, however, did not require any assistance. Actually, what she liked the most was to stand in front of the mirror and to admire her own beauty. As a matter of fact – we have to admit – the queen was extremely beautiful. That was the reason that the king, as a young prince, fell in love with her, unsuspecting the possible complications and side effects. The result of the tale is understood, and the king’s delusion might have had regretful consequences for the lions, but fortunately – and to the relief of the animal rights activists – they were not hurt.
One day, the queen was looking at herself in the mirror, as usual, when she suddenly got dismayed. She saw wrinkles around her eyes. She could not believe her eyes. She commanded that all lamps of the palace should be brought into the mirror room to see her image in full light. The brighter it became, the stronger her dismay grew. She began to see wrinkles around her mouth and on her neck, as well. This cannot go on anymore! This can only be the fault of the damned mirror. She had regarded it as her best friend until now, but it had turned against her! This was high treason that should be avenged right away.
"The mirror should be burned at the stake!" ordered the queen.
The servants immediately started to stack a huge woodpile in the courtyard of the palace. The mirror was tightly bound and placed into the middle of the woodpile. Then, the stake was lit.
The queen ordered her servants to place her most comfortable throne right before the stake so she could enjoy the destruction of her deceiving mirror close up. The woodpile started to burn in huge flames at first, and then turned into glowing embers, but the mirror stood steadfastly in the middle. The materials of the mirror are glass and silver, and they simply ignore the flames of wood.
The queen had a dozen more woodpiles stacked and tried to burn the outrageous mirror. She remained just as unsuccessful as at the first time. Or, not quite. The repeated burning deformed the mirror somewhat, and therefore, when the queen looked at it, a fiercely distorted mirror image looked back at her.
The queen rampaged.
"If all else fails, I'll destroy you with my bare hands!" she shouted.
She ran away and returned with the cruelest whip of her head torturer.
"I'll smash you, you squalid, crooked mirror!" cried the queen, and ran to the mirror flailing with the whip.
However, the logs of the woodpile smoldering around the mirror, although not doing much harm to the mirror, quickly ignited the queen and burned her to the ground within a few moments.
Everything happened so fast that the servants could not have helped their mistress even if they would have wanted. So, it is better not to dwell on whether they wanted to help or not.
The most mysterious thing, however, was that the distorted picture of the queen somehow got burned into the mirror, preserving it forever. The servants cleaned up the remains of the woodpiles and the queen, and they took back the mirror into the mirror room, where anybody desiring to get horrified could view it.
If you happen to be there and have enough courage, do not miss the opportunity to see it.