✦An original cottage fantasy
The Talking Mirror
Kavi expects an old mirror to show his face. Instead, it asks a question and reveals something he has almost forgotten to notice.
A story to read together
The Talking Mirror
Take your time. Let the story unfold.
Grandmother asked Kavi to help tidy the small room overlooking the garden. Beneath a folded cloth, he found a round mirror with a plain wooden frame. Its glass was dusty enough to make his face look like a pale smudge. He polished one corner with a soft cloth. “Much better,” said a voice. Kavi turned towards Grandmother, but she was busy folding linen and had said nothing at all.
The question in the glass
“Who spoke?” Kavi asked. “The thing you are looking at,” replied the mirror. He nearly covered it again. The voice was gentle, though, and the glass gave a warm little shimmer. “Can you show the future?” he whispered. “No,” said the mirror. “That would be a great deal of work. I can sometimes help you notice the present.” Kavi looked more closely. Instead of his own face, he saw the garden gate. A child stood outside holding a small blue book.
Someone at the gate
It was his neighbour Suri. Kavi suddenly remembered promising to read the next chapter of her story with her that afternoon. He had meant to finish tidying first, then had become interested in the mirror. He went to the window. There she was, shifting the book from one hand to the other. Kavi opened the gate, apologised for keeping her waiting, and asked whether she would like to sit in the garden while he put away the last few things. Suri agreed. Soon they were reading beneath the shade tree.
Not every answer is in a mirror
That evening, Kavi asked Grandmother about the talking glass. She smiled as if she had been expecting the question. “It has been quiet for years,” she said. “Perhaps it liked being polished.” Kavi wanted to ask it dozens of things: where his missing marble was, whether his kite would fly, what everyone was thinking. The mirror answered only one. “What can you notice without me?” Kavi looked around. Grandmother’s mending basket was full, and she was rubbing a tired hand. He brought the lamp closer and offered to sort the threads.
The face that looked back
Over the next few days, the mirror mostly behaved like an ordinary mirror. It showed Kavi’s tangled hair, the window, and sometimes a sunbeam on the wall. Once, when he paused before rushing outside, it whispered, “Look again.” He noticed the book he had promised to return and put it in his bag. He did not need the glass to tell him every helpful thing. He could ask, listen, and remember for himself. When he polished the frame at the end of the week, his own face looked back clearly. From somewhere inside the silver light came a small, satisfied voice: “Much better.”
The end
After the final page
There is no single right answer. Invite young readers to notice, wonder and imagine.
Who did the mirror show at the garden gate?
What did Kavi notice about Grandmother without using the glass?
What reminder could help you keep a small promise?
Make something: Draw a paper mirror. Inside it, picture one helpful thing you might otherwise rush past, then write a question that would help you notice it.
