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Please read and respond to this amazing piece of writing; it is a (very) short fairy tale from Japan.

The Mirror: There is a pretty Japanese tale of a small farmer who bought his young wife a mirror. She was surprised and delighted to know that it reflected her face, and cherished her mirror above all her possessions. She gave birth to one​ daughter, and died young; and the farmer put the mirror away in a press, where it lay for long years. The daughter grew up the very image of her mother; and one day, when she was almost a woman, her father took her aside, and told her of her mother, and of the mirror which had reflected her beauty. The girl was devoured with curiosity, unearthed the mirror from the old press, and looked into it. 'Father!' she cried, 'See! Here is mother's face!' It was her own face she saw, but her father said nothing. The tears were streaming down his cheek, and the words would not come.

Now add your thoughtful comments exploring: form - style content symbols themes - message

Useful vocabulary for exploring texts: highlights emphasises foregrounds reflects reinforces suggests connotes

Father and Mother Both 'Fast' (USA, Hillbilly)

Oh, yes. Well a fella stayed with a girl, andby and by he went to his father and he said, 'Father, I'm going to marry that girl.' He says, 'John, let me tell you - I'se fast when I was young, and that girl's your sister.' Well, he felt bad and he left her. By and by, he picked up another one, and he stayed with her for a while, and he went to his father and he said, 'Father, I'm going to marry that girl.' He said, 'Johnny, I was fast when I was young - that girl's your sister.' Felt awful bad, and so one day he's setting up by the stove with his head hung down, and his mother said, 'What's the trouble, John?'. 'No nothing.' She says, 'There's something, and I want to know what it is. Why did you leave that girl, the first one you stayed with, and you left your second one?'. 'Well,' he said, 'Father told me he was fast when he was young, and they's both my sisters.' Says, 'Johnny, I want to tell you something, I was fast when I'se young, and your father ain't your father at all' =​= ( I’m starting with the man in) The Mirror The Mirror takes the simple form of short prose and at first the key themes seem to be family and identity. What the girl see is her mother’s face- she is the living embodiment of her mother and this is what reduces her father to tears. The fact that 'the words would not come' seems the indicate the significance of the event. The grief which struck her father has subsided-his wife lives on. The language is interesting. Especially the use of 'devoured' the describe the girl’s curiosity –it feels as though a force is drawing her to look into the mirror. This in reinforced by the sudden change in tone from words such as ‘surprised’ and ‘delighted’ to the forceful tone of ‘devoured’ Rather than the form of a fairy tale from which the story comes. This could be best described more as a folk tale or a fable. There are no supernatural elements but there is a simple message of coping with grief and like many folk tales it focuses on the family. It is interesting to note the simplicity of the language and the minimal tone is quite representative of Japanese literature.

= = = Homework: = = Read and respond to this short story (follow the above guidelines). c ompare and contrast 'The Mirror' and this story. = = = =Welcome to Your New Wiki!=

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