{"id":1084,"date":"2022-01-26T16:39:47","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T16:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1084"},"modified":"2022-01-26T16:41:08","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T16:41:08","slug":"djerik-and-the-magic-mirror-a-childs-fable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/djerik-and-the-magic-mirror-a-childs-fable\/1084\/","title":{"rendered":"Djerik and the Magic Mirror \u2013 a Child\u2019s Fable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tourdor stole a secret recipe book from a brewer and set himself up as the kingdom\u2019s best innkeeper. Without it, he could not enjoy the wealth to which he had become accustomed, so he stuck a notice on his door: \u201cWanted! Three stout fellows to guard my secret.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An old man with a white beard approaches him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will guard it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tourdor says he wants a stronger man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man points a wand at a barrel and lifts it across the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am the kingdom\u2019s most powerful wizard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s hired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next is a troll. Tourdor says he wants someone more intelligent. The troll lifts the barrel in one hand and places it back in its cradle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI may look dumb, but I know the right place for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The innkeeper hires him, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the troll is an elf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re too small.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI may be small, but I\u2019m a fine archer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He fires an arrow that plucks out the notice, bounces off a wall and zips back in, pinning the notice to the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazed, the innkeeper hires him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That night, Djerik, the dispossessed brewer\u2019s son, broke into the inn, where the elf confronts him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are guarding something stolen from my father. Hear me out and if you pass my test, I will reward you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat test?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a magic mirror, which shows your real enemy. You must slay them to pass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He holds up the mirror, showing a dark figure. The elf fires an arrow, but it reflects, piercing the elf\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn your arrogance, you are your own worst enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He descends and faces the wizard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou say you are the kingdom\u2019s most powerful wizard. In my magic mirror, you will see one as strong as you. Take your chance and strike him down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wizard fires a thunderbolt at the figure. Again, it reflects, and he disappears, leaving just his wand. Djerik strolls to the cellar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHalt,\u201d growls the troll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Djerik holds up the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the troll snatches the mirror and smashes it. Roaring, he runs at Djerik, but stamps on the magic glass, slashing his foot. In pain, he jumps up and bangs his head, cracking his skull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Djerik picks up the recipes, but as he does so, he hears a click, and a portcullis cuts off his escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The innkeeper steps into the room and says, \u201cDid you think I would leave my prize in the safekeeping of an arrogant elf, a decrepit wizard, and a stupid troll?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou may not, but I have it and you are on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou will starve before I let you out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe thing about magic mirrors is,\u201d Djerik says, \u201cnot only does it reflect the powers of those gazing into it, but it also grants the owner their abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pulls out a bow, shoots the innkeeper, and lifts the portcullis with one hand. Then, picking up the wizard\u2019s wand, he transports himself back to his father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they both lived happily ever after, with the riches they deserved.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tourdor stole a secret recipe book from a brewer and set himself up as the kingdom\u2019s best innkeeper. Without it, he could not enjoy the wealth to which he had become accustomed, so he stuck a notice on his door: \u201cWanted! Three stout fellows to guard my secret.\u201d An old man with a white beard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10158782359051062_103813597863211":"","twitter_1225722811282530305_1225722811282530305":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[597,603],"tags":[8,122,12],"class_list":["post-1084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-597","category-february-2022-wealth","tag-he","tag-him","tag-my"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbrNJE-hu","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1090,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1084\/revisions\/1090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}