The Land of the Veiled Looking Glass

 In the Land of the Veiled Looking Glass, there sat by the corner a little girl in a daze,

Shunned by the world for her fair and just ways.

A little girl named Integrity.

She sat amidst a close-knit clique,

Their methods truly novel and chic,

The cunning Decepticons.

Not a scribble or a scratch on her desk all blank,

Integrity went on her quest for Grades, with even her pockets empty, her stationery visible to all, her pouch crystal clear as her heart.

She never did borrow and seldom got the chance to talk.

It is said that she even got a ‘zero’ once,

Only to bounce back from her fall.

Drawing sniggers and sneers from the cunning Decepticons.

The Decepticons who took great pride in evading the Watchful Eyes guarding the Realm of Grades.

Even with all their tricks and lies, the Decepticons got caught or managed to thrive at times,

But never did they dine with the lonesome Integrity.

Integrity, who always wished to unveil the Looking Glass –

So she could see what she looked like,

For, in the eyes of her world, she was not fit to be befriended.

 

The lore of the lonely girl who had never seen her face,

Reached the Kingdom of Rewards.

The Prince, eager to meet Integrity, rode his way to the Land of the Veiled Looking Glass.

Incredible as it was to the lonesome Integrity, she paused at her work and rushed out to meet the Prince on horseback, the Prince named Excellence.

It was in his eyes that she saw herself for the first time and he saw her for what she truly was – her story wrought in silence, her efforts recognized only by the Watchful Eyes.

And from then on, the Prince named Excellence stood by her in her unrelenting quest for knowledge.

As the Decepticons chased the elusive Grades,

Integrity found her one true companion in Excellence.

Soon followed the Ministers of the Kingdom of Rewards,

And as they unveiled the neglected Looking Glass after eons,

Integrity found herself flanked by Self-Reliance, Hope, Faith and Grit.

 

It is said that now the Watchful Eyes come adorned in different colours everyday –

Red, for the self-love Integrity has,

Purple, to show their pride for Integrity and her tribe.

Green, for the everlasting verdure in the depths of Integrity’s mind.

Gold, for the sheen in the robe of Excellence, who never leaves Interity’s side.

Black, for the darkness that Integrity overcomes with courage.

White, for her pristine heart.

And blue, for the firmament she soars beyond, on her Wings of Success.

 

It is believed that the Decepticons could hardly look at the Looking Glass without flinching.

But the news is there is a rift in the close-knit clique, and many are crossing over, to the tribe of Integrity.

For, while many of them saw shame, many others saw potential,

In the now unveiled Looking Glass, that shows them for what they truly are…

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