The Mirror
A simplified version of a fable originally written by Mark Twain.
Once upon a time, an artist painted a beautiful small picture. He put the picture in front of a mirror so he could see it from far away. He liked it better this way.
The animals in the woods heard this story from the cat. The animals admired the cat because he knew many things and was very polite. They asked him what a picture was.
"It is a flat thing," said the cat. "And very beautiful!"
The animals were excited. They asked what made the picture beautiful.
"It is the way it looks," said the cat.
The animals asked what a mirror was.
"It is a hole in the wall," said the cat. "You look in it and see the picture. It is so beautiful that you might feel dizzy."
The donkey was not so sure. He said that if something is very beautiful, you don't need many words to describe it. He said the cat might be lying.
The cat was angry and left. The animals talked about the story. They wondered if the cat was right. The donkey said he would look in the mirror and see for himself.
But the donkey stood in the wrong place, between the picture and the mirror. He only saw himself. He went back and told the other animals that the cat was lying.
The elephant sent other animals to look in the mirror. They all saw themselves. The elephant went himself, and he only saw himself too.
The elephant was angry. He said the cat was a liar.
