The Mentor

Now we go back to the hero and her experience.

The princess bounced off the edges of the hole. From root to rock she rolled and fell. Finally she landed at the bottom of the hole. It was deep and dark and it felt like time itself had stopped in the slow stagnant place. The princess was so surprised, se didn’t even know for certain where she was. Se wandered around the small circle that was the bottom of the hole. Eventually she cried. Se cried for a long time.

Now came a time of struggle. The prince lost his wife and the children lost their mother. The prince held onto the children though it all.

This story introduces a new character. This fellow is common in traditional stories. He is the wise old man or the mentor. This character can of course be a woman. I just decided on a man. The mentor provides wisdom and gives gifts.

Their came a time at the bottom of that hole when the princess could see a warm red glow begin to form in the center of the hole. As her eyes adjusted and the fire grew larger, she saw that a dwarf was tending the fire.

The dwarf spoke to her, “Pick up all those pieces of mirror and bring them to me.” The dwarf said. So she picked up every scrap of that mirror. Each scrap was easy to see because they were reflecting the fire. The dwarf took the shards of glass and put them all into the fire. He wove a spell and with the magic of the deep earth, the dwarf pulled from the fire a mirror like no other she had even seen. This mirror was silver on the edges and had a silver handle but the glass itself was as clear as the truth. When the princess looked through the glass at the dwarf, she did not see an ugly little man, she saw who he really was in his heart. He was glowed with kindness and wisdom. Her heart was filled with gratitude. When she looked through the mirror at the walls of the hole, she saw the truth of what they could become.

The princess will find more gifts available to her and we will work on that part of the story next.