The Mirror of Matsuyana

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The following pretty Little story comes from Japan, where it
may be found in a collection of Tales for Children.
A long time ago, a young couple lived in the
country with their only child, a beautiful little girl, whom
they loved tenderly. The names of the parents cannot be
told now, for they have long been forgotten, but we

(00:22):
know that the place where they lived was Matziana, in
the province of Ichigo. Now. It happened when the child
was still very little, that her father was obliged to
go to the capital of the kingdom. As it was
so long a journey, neither his wife nor his child
could go with them, and he departed alone, promising to

(00:45):
bring them many pretty gifts on his return. The mother
had never been away from the neighborhood and was not
able to get rid of some fear when she thought
of the long journey her husband mistake. At the same time, however,
she could not but feel pride and satisfaction that it
was her husband who was the first man in all

(01:08):
that region to go to the rich city, where the
king and the nobles lived, and where there were so
many beautiful and marvelous things to be seen. At last,
when the good wife knew that their husband would return. She
dressed her child gayly in the best clothes she had,
and herself in the blue dress that she knew he

(01:30):
liked very much. It is not possible to describe the
joy of the good woman when she saw her husband
return safe and sound. The little one clapped her hands
and laughed with delight when she saw the toys her
father had brought. And he never tired of telling of
the wonderful things he had seen on his journey and

(01:53):
at the capitol to you, he said to his wife,
I have brought a thing of wonderful power that is
called a mirror. Look and tell me what you see inside.
He handed her a little flat box of white wood,
and when she opened it she saw a metal disk.

(02:13):
One side was white as frost as silver, and ornamented
with birds and flowers raised from the surface. The other
side was shining and polished, like a windowpane. Into this
the young wife gazed with pleasure and astonishment, for from
the depths she saw looking out at her a smiling

(02:35):
face with parted lips and animated eyes. What do you see?
Repeated the husband, charmed by her amazement, and proud to
prove that he had remembered her in his absence. I
see a pretty young woman who looks at me and
moves her lips as if talking, and who wears what
a wonderful thing, a blue dress exactly like mine, silly one,

(03:02):
what you see is your own sweet face, replied the man,
delighted to know that his wife did not recognize herself.
This circle of mental is called a looking glass. In
the city, every woman has one, although here in the
country no one has seen one until to day. Enchanted

(03:24):
with her gift, the woman passed several days in wonderment, because,
as I have said, this was the first time she
had seen a mirror, and consequently the first time she
had seen the image of her own pretty face. This
wonderful jewel she thought too precious to be used every day,
and the little box she guarded carefully, concealing it among

(03:47):
her most precious treasures. Years passed, the good man and
his wife living happily through them. All. The delight of
his life was the child who was growing into the
living image of her dear mother, and who was so
good and affectionate that everybody loved her. The mother, remembering

(04:08):
her own passing vanity over her beauty, kept the mirror
hidden to protect her daughter from any chance of vanity.
As for the father, no one had spoken of the glass,
and he had forgotten all about it. Thus the child
grew up frank and guileless as her mother wished, knowing
nothing of her own beauty or what the mirror might reflect.

(04:33):
But there came a day of terrible misfortune to this family.
Till then so happy the devoted and loving mother fell sick,
and although her daughter watched her with affectionate and tender devotion,
the dear woman grew worse and worse each day. When

(04:54):
she knew that she must soon pass away. She was
very sad, grieving for husband and daughter that she must
leave behind on earth, and especially was she anxious for
the future of her loving daughter. Calling the girl to
the bedside, she said, my beloved child, you see that

(05:16):
I am so very sick that soon I must die
and leave you and your father alone. Promise me that
when I am gone, every morning, when you get up,
and every night when you go to bed, you will
look into the mirror which your father gave me long ago.

(05:36):
In it, you will see me smiling back at you,
and you will know that I am ever near to
protect you. Having spoken these words, she pointed to the
place where the mirror was hidden, and the girl, with
tears on her cheeks, promised to do as her mother wished,

(05:58):
tranquil and resigned. The mother then passed quickly away. The
dutiful daughter, never forgetting her mother's wishes. Each morning and
evening took the glass from the place where it was
hidden and gazed at it intently for a long time.
There she saw the face of her dead mother, brilliant

(06:21):
and smiling, not pallid and ill as it was in
her last days, but young and beautiful. To this vision,
each night she confided the troubles and little faults of
the day, looking to it for help and encouragement in
doing her duty. In this manner, the little girl grew
up as if watched over and helped by a living presence,

(06:44):
trying always to do nothing that could grieve or annoying
her sainted mother. Her greatest pleasure was to look into
the mirror and feel that she could truthfully say, Mother,
to day, I have been as you wished that I
should be. After a time, the father observed that his

(07:04):
daughter looked lovingly into the mirror every morning and every evening,
and appeared to converse with it. Wondering, he asked her
the cause of her strange behavior. The girl replied, Father,
I look every day into the glass to see my
dear mother and to speak with her. She then related
to him the last wishes of her dying mother, and

(07:26):
assured him that she had never failed to comply with them.
Wondering at such simplicity and loving obedience, the father shed
tears of pity and affection. Nor did he ever find
the heart to explain to the loving daughter that the
image she saw in the mirror was but the reflection

(07:48):
of her own beautiful face. Thus, by the pure white
bond of her filial love, each day the charming Gruel
grew more and more like her dead mother and of
the mirror of Marsiana,