Days passed one after another, the animals lived their usual lives, noticing no changes after the visit to their forest by the crow-MPs. But then one night a storm raged through the forest. Lightning flashed in the sky, torrential rain poured down. Raging torrents of water rushed into the forest, destroying everything in their path. They uprooted trees, washed away gullies, and 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 forest. On branches torn off by the storm, dewdrops glistened, and 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 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 clearing up the aftermath of the storm.
Dejected and upset, the forest dwellers 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 away by the rain, had spread even further and now occupied twice as much space as before. Panic gripped the animals, but Wolf, the brave and swift pack leader, proposed that they actively set about tidying up themselves, without relying on outside help.
At that moment, intermittent snuffling and rustling sounds came from beneath a pile of rubbish, and everyone fell silent. A couple of seconds later, from the heap of thrown branches and dry leaves, emerged Grandfather Hedgehog, all dirty and tired. The animals were taken aback, and Little Fox rushed to shake off from his spines the small dry twigs, pine cones, and all the other rubbish that had caught on his prickles whilst Hedgehog was climbing out of the pile.
Grandfather Hedgehog looked thoughtful and puzzled.
He told the forest dwellers:
Deep beneath the rubbish lies something large and sparkling, heavy and mysterious. Help me get it out!
The little animals became curious about what it could be! The Boars came to Hedgehog's aid. With their snouts and tusks they managed the task without much effort. In less than a couple of minutes, they extracted from beneath the pile of rubbish an ancient enormous mirror in a sturdy oak frame, on carved turned legs. The animals gasped! What a marvel! What a find!
The mirror was filthy, but the Raccoons volunteered to clean and wash it. Having carefully washed and dried the mirror thoroughly, the Raccoons handed it to wise Hedgehog. And now the mirror sparkled and shone with cleanliness and freshness, appearing before the crowd's gaze without a single smudge or spot.
Seeing such beauty, the forest dwellers 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-oo, hoo-oo!". It was old and wise Owl waking up. She called out again in a drawn-out voice: "Hoo-oo, hoo-oo!", and, casting an attentive glance of her huge, saucer-like eyes downwards, noticed both the crowd of animals and the mirror installed on the stump in the middle of the clearing.
Flapping her wings, Owl circled 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 upwards, drawing particular attention to herself.
Owl-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 forest parliament. It can show without fail who will be lucky. And to do this, one must look into it and make speeches related to commitments made to the electorate.
And what began then! Each of those gathered suddenly felt special, worthy of being a candidate for MP. A huge queue formed to make promises before the mirror.
Wolf came out first. Feeling the support of the pack behind him, he squared his shoulders, removed the beastly snarl from his muzzle and said as politely as possible:
Ladies and gentlemen, I consider myself the most worthy candidate in this election. I am capable of resolving all current issues and problems of the forest dwellers, I am the strongest and most powerful, trust me and you'll live splendidly.
And from the mirror suddenly looked back at him... Bear.
Next came Fox. She glanced at herself in the mirror, fluffed up her tail, raised her ears, smiled sweetly and began to speak, as if singing:
If you elect me, I'll organise a chicken coop here. The hens will clear away the rubbish tip and start laying golden eggs for us. And each of you will live more comfortably and prosperously. I'll do everything possible to ensure you all have a comfortable life and old age. So that in the twilight of your lives, none of you will want for anything. Just vote for me, and your life will change for the better!
Fox 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... Bear.
And at that moment she was already being pushed aside by the next speaker, and this was Peacock. He spread his tail of unusual beauty, raised his elegant head upwards, 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 terrible force, beauty will save the world! I promise you I'll restore order to the forest, make everything beautiful and bright. Together we'll set up cosy rest areas for children and adults, hang lanterns throughout the forest to illuminate hard-to-reach places. After all, everything should be beautiful and colourful, which is what we lack in everyday life. Vote for me, and you'll have happiness and grace.
He began.
Peacock looked into the mirror again and... oh horror! There appeared the reflection of Bear...
Evening was falling. Twilight from the depths of the forest was advancing on the clearing where the meeting was taking place. The animals were somewhat tired from 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 a shadow appeared from the blackthorn thickets, and someone began slowly, with heavy but confident steps, to advance towards 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 Brown Bear approaching them.
Well, then? Had your say?
He growled discontentedly.
Admired yourselves in the mirror? Ha-ha-ha! And you, foolish beasts, listened to all this, nodded along, agreed. And...? So, you've all had your moment of glory here and that's quite enough! I'm taking the mirror, there's no need for you to carry on with this nonsense here. 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, Brown Bear, 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 forest clearing, and only continues to grow in size.
