Days passed one after another, the animals lived their usual lives, noticing no changes after the visit to their bush by the crow-politicians. But then one night a storm raged through the bush. Lightning flashed across the sky, torrential rain poured down. Raging torrents of water surged into the bush, destroying everything in their path. They uprooted trees, washed away gullies, broke bushes. By morning the lightning had stopped flashing. The storm had passed.
The sun broke free from the embrace of wet clouds, and streams of light poured into the water-washed bush. On branches torn off by the storm, dewdrops glistened, grass that had been flattened by the strong wind rose up again. A solitary raindrop rolled down the black bark of a dried-up thin twig and paused at its tip, ready to fall at any moment. The droplet shone, shimmering with all the colours of the rainbow.
The little animals began cautiously emerging from their homes and watched with horror at the scene of destruction before their eyes. This prompted them to decide to gather again in the clearing to discuss the pressing issue of the rubbish tip and dealing with the aftermath of the storm.
Gloomy and upset, the bush residents made their way to the edge of the clearing for the meeting. And what did they see there? The rubbish, scattered by the wind and washed out by the rain, had spread even further and occupied twice as much area as before. Panic gripped the animals, but Dingo, the brave and swift pack leader, proposed that they actively tackle the clean-up themselves, without hoping for outside help.
At that moment, from under a pile of rubbish came intermittent snuffling and rustling sounds, and everyone fell silent. A couple of seconds later, from a heap of thrown-together branches and dry leaves, emerged a completely dirty and tired old Echidna. The animals were taken aback, and Possum rushed over to shake off from his spines the small dry twigs, gum nuts, and all the other rubbish that had caught on his spines whilst Echidna was climbing out of the pile.
Old Echidna looked thoughtful and puzzled.
He told the bush residents:
Deep under the rubbish lies something large and gleaming, heavy and mysterious. Help me get it out!
The little animals became curious about what it could be! Wild Boars came to Echidna's aid. With their snouts and tusks they managed the task without much effort. In less than a couple of minutes, they extracted from under the pile of rubbish an ancient enormous mirror in a solid ironbark frame, on carved turned legs. The animals gasped! What a wonder! What a find!
The mirror was filthy-filthy, but the Possums volunteered to clean and wash it. Carefully washing and thoroughly drying the mirror, the Possums handed it to wise Echidna. And now the mirror sparkled and shone with cleanliness and freshness, without a single smudge or spot it appeared before the crowd's gaze.
Seeing such beauty, the bush residents gathered at the meeting unanimously decided to install the mirror on one of the stumps in the middle of the clearing. So that everyone who passed by could see the mirror and admire its beauty. No sooner said than done!
The day was drawing to a close, evening time was approaching. The animals decided to head home, but suddenly, from the thick branches of the tallest tree came: "Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo!". It was the old and wise Tawny Frogmouth waking up. She called out again in a drawn-out cry: "Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo!", and, casting an attentive glance with her huge, saucer-like eyes downward, noticed both the crowd of animals and the mirror installed on the stump in the middle of the clearing.
Flapping her wings, Tawny Frogmouth made a circle above the clearing and landed on the stump where the mirror stood. Surveying all those gathered with a keen and meaningful look, she raised her right wing upward, drawing special attention to herself.
Tawny Frogmouth-Big Head delivered a speech:
Four years ago, on the eve of the election campaign, this mirror played a decisive role in the elections to the bush parliament. It can unerringly show who will be lucky. And for this you need to look into it and make speeches related to the commitments you've taken on before the voters.
And what began then! Each of those gathered suddenly felt special, worthy of being a candidate for parliament. A huge queue formed to make promises before the mirror.
Dingo came out first. Feeling the support of the pack behind him, he straightened his shoulders, removed the feral snarl from his face and said as politely as possible:
Mates, I reckon I'm the most worthy candidate in this election. I'm capable of solving all the current issues and problems of bush residents, I'm the strongest and most powerful, trust me and you'll live well.
And from the mirror suddenly looked back at him... Wombat.
Next came Dingo's mate. She glanced at herself in the mirror, fluffed her tail, perked up her ears, smiled sweetly and spoke, as if singing:
If you choose me, I'll organise a chook pen here. The chooks will scratch through the rubbish tip and start laying us golden eggs. And each of you will live better fed and richer. I'll do everything possible to ensure you all have a comfortable life and old age. So that in the twilight of your life's journey none of you will want for anything. Just vote for me, and your life will change for the better!
She glanced once more into the mirror and recoiled from it in horror, because she saw in it not her own reflection, but again the reflection of... Wombat.
And at that moment she was already being pushed aside by the next speaker, and it was Lyrebird. He spread his tail of extraordinary beauty, raised his elegant head upward, thrust out his chest. And before beginning his speech, he spent several more minutes admiring his own reflection in the antique mirror.
Friends, beauty, as you all know, is a powerful force, beauty will save the world! I promise you I'll tidy up the bush, make everything beautiful, bright. Together we'll set up cosy rest areas for kids and adults, hang lanterns throughout the bush to light hard-to-reach places. After all, everything should be beautiful and colourful, which we lack in everyday life. Vote for me, and you'll have happiness and prosperity.
He began.
Lyrebird looked into the mirror again and... oh horror! There appeared the reflection of Wombat...
Evening was falling. Twilight from the depths of the bush was advancing on the clearing where the meeting was taking place. The animals were getting a bit tired of these debates. They no longer knew which of the candidates to believe and which not to. And each of the speakers was firmly convinced that he had made a worthy impression on the electorate.
Consumed by their own thoughts, each side didn't even notice how from the blackthorn thickets a shadow appeared, and someone began slowly, with heavy but confident steps, to advance toward the clearing. The crack of a branch brought all the animals out of their stupor; in the silence the sound of the broken branch rang out especially loudly. Looking round at the noise, they saw approaching them a Grey Wombat.
Well, what? Had your say?
He growled discontentedly.
Admired yourselves in the mirror? Ha-ha-ha! And you, silly creatures, listened to all this, nodded along, agreed. And...? So here's the thing, you've all had your moment in the spotlight here and that's enough! I'm taking the mirror, no point you lot mucking about here anymore. You all saw who was constantly reflected in it, didn't you? And that means power and authority will be in my paws finally and irrevocably! Remember, only I, Grey Wombat, am the brightest and most worthy representative of power.
The silent scene didn't last long. The animals realised that this decision was not up for discussion, and quietly dispersed to their homes. And the uncleared pile of rubbish still lies in the bush clearing, and only grows larger.
