Matsuyama's Mirror

A long time ago, there lived a couple in a remote part of Japan. They had a little girl. He was very loved by his parents. His name was Matsuyama. Once his father had to go far away to Kyoto for work. Before leaving, the girl's father told her that if she was good and helped her mother with her chores, he would bring her a present that she would love. Saying this his father also took leave of his mother. Mother and daughter waved him goodbye.

When he returned home, after his wife and daughter had removed his big hat and chatti, he sat on a white mat and opened a bamboo basket. He saw his little daughter looking at the basket with interest. He reached in and brought out a very beautiful doll and a box of sweets and handed them to her outstretched hand. Then he reached into the basket again, and brought out a metal mirror for his wife. Her curved bottom was glistening. Behind him were pictures of pine trees and cranes.

The woman had never seen a mirror before, and so, looking into the mirror, she thought another woman was looking at her through the mirror. He continued to watch in amazement. Then her husband explained the secret to her and told her to keep the mirror very carefully.

All these happy moments did not last long. Matsuyama's mother suddenly became very ill. Just before he died he called little Matsuyama and said, "My dear, take good care of your father when I die. You will be very sad when I am gone. But take this mirror, and when you feel most alone, look into it—you will see me." Saying this, Matsuyama's mother died.

A few days later, Matsuyama's father remarried. His new wife was not very kind to her stepdaughter. But the little girl remembered her mother. If he was in trouble, he would go to a corner and stare at the mirror. He thought he saw his dear mother's face in the mirror. But that face was not full of pain like at the time of death, it was a young beautiful face.

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One day when he was sitting in a corner looking at the mirror and talking to his mother, his stepmother saw him. Her stepmother could not see the mirror in Matsuyama's hand. She already strongly disliked Matsuyama, and thought to herself that her stepdaughter disliked him just as much. In his crooked mind he thought, the girl is doing some magic, Nirghat is threading needles on his picture. Thinking of all this, she went to her husband and complained that his jealous daughter was trying to kill him with mantras.

Her husband was surprised to hear this. He went straight into his daughter's room. Her daughter was startled as she rushed into the room, and immediately hid the mirror behind her dress. For the first time his loving father was angry with him, and he feared that what his wife had told him might be true. He asked the girl to know the truth.

When Matsuyama heard all these strange words from his father's mouth, he was surprised. He told his father that he loved him so much that it was impossible for him to think of killing his wife, because he knew how much he loved her.

"What are you hiding in the folds of your clothes?" His surprised father asked in a bit of disbelief.

"The mirror you gave to mother, which she gave to me when she died. Whenever I look into it, I see my mother's beautiful, young face. When I am in great pain --- Yes! I've been very upset these past few days---I turn the mirror, and my mother's face, full of sweet, calm smiles, comforts me, helps me endure the harsh words and angry looks."

Then Matsuyama's father understood his daughter better and loved her more because of her sense of duty towards him. Even his stepmother, when she came to know everything, was very ashamed and apologized to him. And Matsuyama, who believed he saw his mother's face in the mirror, forgave his stepmother.

Ashanti left their family forever.