p e n c h a n t

EXCEPT FOR THE GOBLINS, IT’S BEEN A GOOD YEAR.

Paper cutout illustration by Troy Howell / click on image for detail

I N T R O D U C T I O N

IT WAS THE DEVIL WHO DID IT—old Scratch. Long ago, when he had more idleness because fewer people lived in the world, he made an amazing mirror, a mirror so clever that anything good it reflected looked sleazy and crude, and whatever was bad looked good. In this mirror, bright skies turned black, lush landscapes shriveled, and kind hearts turned to stone. Women looking into it saw withered wrecks, wise men became fools, and children worked like push-button toys. Criminals and clods turned respectable.

Scratch and his gang showed the mirror far and wide—from the humblest home to the highest citadel—stirring up mischief, causing pain. But were they satisfied? Goodness no. “Heaven must see it too!” they said.

So into the clouds they flew, hoisting the evil thing. But the closer they came to heaven, the more the glass trembled. Higher and higher, the more it shook. Until, at last, springing from their hands, it burst in a shower of shards.

The fragments fell—here, there, across the earth, through the ages. A few were the size of windows, but most were slivers and motes, floating unseen. They could lodge in one’s eye or heart. Woe came to those who were struck by them—a thousand woes.

Watch now—beware! Some of the shards are drifting still….

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The story continues on a separate page. Click here to read on.

Beware: this new telling (from Hans Christian Andersen’s old one) is copyrighted.
Steal it, and your heart turns to stone.