I stumbled across this cute little story in an old Cottage Hearth Magazine from June of 1888 – Enjoy!
The Tale of a Mirror
“Dear me!” said I, looking at it dubiously. “I hate to throw it aside, because it belonged to grandmother, and John likes to see it ’round. I had though of getting a new frame for it, it is such a good glass, but now –”
Now there was a great crack across one corner, and of course it wouldn’t pay to get a new frame. So I thought and said, but Aunt Sally looked at the old glass mistily.
“I shall miss it dretfully from the fore-room shelf,” said she; “I wonder if –”
She didn’t tell me what she wondered, but half an hour after that I knew, when the new minister’s pretty wife came tripping up the garden walk. Somehow everybody goes to her for any bit of information that it wanted, from painting a photograph case to making a dress, and she always knows just what to do.
She knew what to do in this case, she looked at the big crack, and patted the old-fashioned frame lovingly.
“I wish I had just such a mirror,” cried she, cheerily. “I’d oh, please may I take it home and fix it for you, dear Mrs. Simpson ?” As if allowing her to do so would be the greatest favor in the known world!
Well, when she brought it back next week you wouldn’t have known that mirror. The frame was covered with garnet plush, and the crack well, there was no crack there, only a spray of apple-blossoms, looking so natural you could hardly keep your fingers off them.
“Why, I can almost smell ’em!” cried Aunt Sally, bending her nose to them.
“I never saw anything so pretty, and I never can thank you?”; cried I. What can’t you do, Mrs. Adams?”
“I can’t make soft soap,” she laughed, “and I want you to come over and show me how.”
That is another way our minister’s wife has of making it appear that the favor is all on one side, and it is a very pleasant way, indeed.
– Mrs. E. P. S.
I thought this was such a cute little story – what a sweet way to request a favor, indeed!