Her name was Cassandra.
She had long blonde hair which she brushed every night in front of a mirror.
The mirror was large,
It had a border of seashells all the way around it,
Her mother had given it to her and told her it once belonged to a mermaid.
Each night,
As she brushed,
She would sing the mermaid's song to the mirror and it would wake from its slumber.
"Good evening Cassandra"
"Good evening mirror"
They would talk,
They would laugh,
And then at the end of the night,
Cassandra would sing the mirror back to sleep.
One day,
As they were talking,
The mirror spoke to her.
"Cassandra, you have been so kind to me all these years,
I wish to repay you by granting your inner most desires."
Cassandra was surprised,
"Wishes?" she inquired,
"Wishes!" replied the mirror.
She thought long and hard,
And finally she conjured a wish.
"Mirror, one of the most powerful people I have ever known was my father,
and I would love to be that powerful.
I wish I was like my father."
The mirror went silent,
One of the shells opened and out dropped a glowing green pearl,
It melted and fizzled until it had transformed into a beautiful emerald necklace.
"Wear it and it will give you the power which you seek."
Cassandra wore the emerald,
Suddenly she began to feel feint.
She collapsed to the floor in a heap,
And when she stood up,
She noticed,
She was a man.
Her hair was shorter,
Her dress had turned to a fine suit,
Her necklace was now a bright green tie.
"What has happened?"
"You wished..." Said the mirror,
"It came true. Now you will know the power of your father."
Cassandra went out into the world in her new form,
But she found that the power of men was no different to that of women.
It was not as she had hoped.
She returned to the mirror.
"It's the same! Some simple things are different,
but men hold no more power than women!"
The mirror surfaced from its slumber,
"Then perhaps, another wish?"
Cassandra thought and thought,
"I want to be the most powerful of all my friends, all my family.
Find my most powerful acquaintance and turn me into them instead!"
The mirror replied,"Very well,
but first,
remove your beautiful necklace,
so that you return to your natural self."
As she did so her hair grew,
Her dress changed,
And once again she was herself.
The mirror wasted no time,
Instantly,
All the shells opened around it's frame,
Cassandra felt herself changing,
Her arms shrank to stubs,
Her legs disappeared,
And as she looked out she could see,
In the reflection,
That she was now a mirror too.
Nothing held her up,
So the mirror fell,
It crashed onto the floor into countless pieces,
And in one of them she looked up at her mirror,
"Why!? What has become of me?"
The mirror could not see her.
The mirror only heard a whimper from the ground.
"Now you are the most powerful thing in your acquaintance,
You are me,
And now you will understand,
That often,
With power,
Comes restriction...
...and that it is better to be your self.
Envy no man; envy no thing"