not in the least like anything you ever saw , and yet , perchance you may have seen something like it. How do I know ?
Well , at any rate the children had never heard of such a wonderful mirror before . It had a queer way of swinging itself on its hinge - I forgot to tell you that it had been fastened to the wall by a hinge so that its face could be turned toward the east or the west window, and thus let the children see themselves in the morning as well as the evening light . At first they thought this was a fine idea , but sometimes it was not exactly comfortable to have the small mirror suddenly swing round and face them when they didn't care to be faced .
For instance , when Mai had been working hard all day and because she felt tired , spoke crossly to the little brothers , it was not at all agreeable to look up and see the face of a bear reflected in the silver mirror , or when Gregory had been boasting of something fine he was going to accomplish , to catch a glimpse of a barnyard rooster strutting about as if he were indeed the master of the farm . Somehow it made Gregory feel foolish even if the rest of the children did not see the image in the mirror . Once little Beta came in ahead of the
THE LITTLE GRAY GRANDMOTHER. 53
others , and , finding some apples that the father had brought home , seized the largest one and began to devour it . A swing of the silver mirror brought its polished surface before her eyes , and instead of a reflection of her own chubby face , she saw a pig greedily devouring a pile of apples . She couldn't understand it , and yet it made her feel ashamed and she quietly laid the apple back on the table .
But the pictures were not all disagreeable ones . Sometimes the small silver mirror reflected beautiful pictures . One bright summer day when Mai had stayed indoors all the morning to help the dear - mother finish a jacket for Beta , when she was longing with all her heart to be out in the sunshine , she chanced to glance up at the small mirror , and there was the vision of a beautiful Saint , with a golden light around her head such as Mai had seen in a church window once when she was in the city . The smile on the face was radiant . In a moment the vision had disappeared and only the shining surface of silver remained .
One day Gregory rowed little Beta across the bay to the large town on the other side , and did without his dinner that with his little farthing he might pay for the privilege of letting her climb the light-house stairs and see
how big the world was . That night when they reached home , tired and happy , Beta looked into the mirror and there she saw the good St. Christopher wading through a dark stream of water with the little Christ - child on his shoulder , and somehow the face of St. Christopher was Gregory's face . As she cried , " Look ! " she pointed to the mirror , but Gregory could see nothing but its shining surface . Still , Beta ever afterwards called him " St. Christopher , " little dreaming that in years to come he would truly be the means by which many little children were carried safely across the dark streams .
At another time Doodle had rescued a poor frightened cat from some boys on the beach who were tormenting her , and even though they jeered at him and called him " chickenhearted " he had taken the little creature up in his arms and brought her in to the dear mother . As he passed the small silver mirror , a picture of a young knight shone in the depths of its surface , with a face so strong and pure and brave that Doodle stopped to admire it and wonder how it came there . Again and again when the children did a kind , or a truthful , or loving thing, the mirror reflected for a moment some beautiful
