"Do You Believe in Magic?"

Once upon a time very long ago (um....1967) in a land far, far away (um....Chicago), there was a girl called Melly who one day met a Prince.  Melly and the Prince fell instantly in love and before long they were married, bringing them great joy!  Unfortunately Melly and the Prince came from a very poor kingdom and had very little money of their own.  Melly didn't even have much of a dowry (um....just shoes, a girl can never have enough shoes!)   Soon, Melly and the Prince found their very own very tiny castle that they could afford in a building with several other castles (um...it was more of a castle condominium).  In order to provide for his new bride, the Prince had to go off on a Quest (um...get a job!), leaving Melly to try to fill her days by making their castle into a showplace (um....a low-budget but cute apartment).

Although it really would have helped, no fairy godmother or Rumplestilskin appeared to wave a wand giving their tiny 4 room castle instant luxury  (um....an emergency makeover).  There was no troop of happy Munchkins (um....Little People) to whistle while they worked.  Poor Melly and her Prince had to do it all on their own, so in between his quests, the Prince painted, varnished, tiled, and remodeled to Melly's exacting specifications.  Melly supervised (um....was next to useless in actually doing any of the work!) 

About the only thing Melly contributed (um....was capable of) was shopping.  She did have a flair for decorating (um....finding cheap knock-offs).  She  bought the perfect accessories (um....what they could afford) like beautiful works by the Old Masters (um....cheap posters), imported china (um....dishes made in China) delightful stemware (um....sale glasses) from a new place call "Tarjshay" (....okay, okay, so it was Target.  geesh!)

She travelled  far and wide and found exotic and magical treasures like exquisite chandeliers, an etegierre, hand-woven Persian carpets and the piece de resistance an old, gilt looking glass(um....bought a few cheap lamps, some shelves, a throw rug, and a mirror).

It was to this home their own precious little Princess was born to great rejoicing.  In the end their tiny castle home served them well for a long time, but it was only the first of many abodes that Melly and the Prince shared over the years.  They eventually moved to bigger and better kingdoms where both their finances and castles improved over time.  As a result, bit by bit, Melly's first treasures (um....bargain basement stuff) disappeared and were replaced.  Finally, after a few decades, nothing was left of the original accessories -- except the mirror. 

The looking glass, although lovely (um....cheap) didn't fall apart no matter how often Melly and the Prince found new castles and new kingdoms (um....houses and cities).  The old mirror found a new  place to hang and all was well.  Somehow Melly never could part with the mirror.  She never really understood why exactly.  It didn't talk to her, or show her the future, or give her the winning lottery numbers!  (Hmf....what do you think this is?  A Fairy Tale??)  So she eventually concluded it was just an ordinary, plain, boring mirror.  But still she took it with them.

After many decades Melly realized that the Prince wasn't a prince every single minute of every single day.  She realized she wasn't always right.  She realized they didn't live in a castle.  She realized that no matter what kingdom they were in great wealth would never be theirs.  But their life had been a mostly happy one, their little Princess grew into a wonderful person with a little Princess of her own.  Yes, Melly and the Prince had a good life, some ups, some downs, no magic, no tragedy, just like everyone else. 

The only magic that ever showed up was in that old looking glass after all.  It was just a little bit of magic that took years for Melly to notice.  That old mirror defied all laws of physics, or light, or something because everytime she passed it, she saw her own reflection, and that reflection made her look thin and younger and beautiful (um....well, thinner anyway!)  She would NEVER get rid of that mirror, because every one needs a little magic in their lives, even if its just an old cheap mirror that distorts what it reflects!  It's not exactly "mirror, mirror on the wall," but that's okay.  After all, a little magic is better than no magic at all.  Right?  "Do You Believe in Magic?"  If not, come on over, I've got a mirror I want you to see!