UNEXPECTED REFLECTIONS


A hare ran around in the sunny summer forest and noticed a mirror on a clearing. In the mirror, he saw a fox.
The frightened hare jumped back and so did the fox in the mirror.
The hare approached gingerly and wondered aloud: "Why is my reflection a fox?"
"Because he's going to be the next animal passing by here," replied the mirror.
"Oh. Guess I'd better be on my way then."
"Guess so. Unless you'd like to ask me a question."
The hare thought briefly. "How can I disguise my burrow so that no predators will find it?"
"Put something that smells of a human near it. Then the other animals will be afraid to approach."
"How do I find something that smells of a human?"
The mirror didn't answer.
The hare stood there clueless, then ran away.

A fox trotted past the mirror and was very surprised to see a wolf in it.
"Why is my reflection a wolf?"
"Because he'll be the next animal who comes here."
The fox thought for a moment. "When is a hen going to walk past here?"
"At four in the afternoon."
"Thanks." The fox jogged away.

A wolf passed by the mirror and saw a bear in it. His jaw dropped. "What's going on here?"
"You're seeing a bear because the next animal coming here is going to be a bear," the mirror explained.
"I see." The wolf turned to go.
"You can ask me a question."
"What question?"
"Any question you want, but only one at a time."
The wolf sank in thoughts for a while and then left.

A bear strolled past the mirror and was baffled to see a hen in it. "Why is there a hen in the mirror?" he asked.
"Because the next animal who comes here is going to be a hen."
The bear shrugged. "Whatever." He sauntered on.

A hen approached the mirror at a quick pace. Seeing a familiar dog in it, she clucked: "Dog, what are you doing here?"
"I'm a magic mirror," explained the mirror. "You're seeing the dog because he will be the next animal passing by here."
"Oh no! He'll chase me back home. What should I do?"
"Hide behind me."
The hen did as she was told.

A dog came running and saw the fox in the mirror. He stopped confusedly, snuffled the air and found the hen behind the mirror. "Where's the fox?"
"I don't know."
"Stupid hen! Go home at once."
The dog sniffed the tracks around the mirror and hurried away. The hen stayed where she was.

The panting fox appeared. As soon as he saw a girl in the mirror, he turned around and ran away.

A girl came and saw the hare in the mirror.
"My, what a cute bunny!" she exclaimed. Trying to touch him, she realized the hare was her own reflection. "Is this a magic mirror?"
"Yes," said the mirror. "You are seeing the hare because he'll be the next animal to come here."
"Can I take him home with me?"
"No, he fears you and won't approach while you are here."
"What a pity! Can you tell him I won't hurt him?"
The mirror didn't reply.
"If I can't keep the bunny, I'll leave him a present." The girl took off her headscarf and placed it on the ground.
Before leaving, she looked behind the mirror and saw the hen.
"Naughty biddy, what are you doing in the forest? Come here, let's get you home."
She picked the hen up and walked away.

The hare approached slowly, wary of the girl's headscarf that smelled distinctly of a human.
"May I take this?" he asked the wolf in the mirror.
"Sure," the mirror replied. "It's for you."



(C) Olavi Jaggo
First published: 2022-03-09
This version: 2024-11-15

The first version of this story won the 2nd place out of 7 in the monthly Literary Maneuvers competition.




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