THE MASTER CRAFTSMEN
483
Order of the Fan. Your mirror really does distort the human
face! Look! My nose goes across my face, my eyes are popping
out, my mouth reaches from ear to ear, and my ears hang like a
dog's. Thank heaven it is a curved mirror."
And no longer
worried,
Vainglorious sent for Melchiora.
"I have carried out your request, Melchiora" said the king.
"Here is the truest mirror; it was made by your friend Amalgam.
Look into it and admit that I told you the truth." The king
snickered as he spoke those words.
Hardly had Melchiora looked into the mirror, when she
stepped back and covered her face
with
her hands in incredulity.
"Now I hope you know what you're like," said the con–
tented king. "Yes, now I know what I'm like," said Melchiora
quietly and again looked in the mirror, unable to tear herself
away. "There you are," said the king. "Now you won't be so
stubborn."
In a happy mood, the king sent for his courtiers and told
them all to look in the mirror. The Ministers and Lords, the
I
weathercocks and Chiefs of the Chimney Draft gazed at them-
I
·
selves in the mirror and then spat with disgust: "We certainly
have ugly mugs in this mirror!"
I
They had not the slightest idea that Amalgam had made a
perfectly plain and true
mirror.
It
was only the sly Once-Upon–
a-Time who suspected something was wrong. He seized the
mirror, suddenly held it up before Amalgam'S face and saw that
the Craftsman was reflected in it just as clear-eyed as he was in
\
actual fact.
"Look, Your Majesty," howled Once-Upon-a-Time, "the
rascal has cheated us! He has made a magic mirror which dis–
torts our own faces and the beautiful countenance of the king
but reflects his own face and that of this stubborn girl in un–
distorted fashion."
"Right, this time it's the ventilator for you!" shouted the
furious king.
