It was proclaimed throughout the kingdom of Granada that the king had
decided on marrying. The news was first told to the court barber, then
to the night watchmen, and, in the third place, to the oldest woman in
the city of Granada.
The barber told all his customers, who again told all their friends. The
night watchmen in crying the hour proclaimed the news in a loud voice,
so that all the maidens were kept awake by thinking of the news, and by
day they were being constantly reminded by all the old dueñas that the
king had resolved to marry.
After the news had become somewhat stale, the question was asked, “Who
is the king going to marry?” To which the barber made reply, that
probably “he would marry a woman.”
“A woman!” exclaimed his hearers. “Why, what else could he marry?”
“Not all women are worthy the name,” answered the barber. “Some more
resemble the unbaptized, of whom I say, _abernuncio_.”
“But what mean you, good friend?” demanded his customers. “Is not the
king to find a woman for wife in our land of Spain?”
“He would,” replied the barber, “with greater ease find the reverse; but
to find a woman worthy to be his wife I shall have great trouble.”
“What, _you?_” exclaimed all of them. “What have you got to do with
providing the king with a wife?”
“I am under royal licence, remember,” said he of the razor; “for I am
the only man in the kingdom permitted to rub the royal features. I am
the possessor of the magic mirror also, into which if any woman not
being thoroughly good shall look, the blemishes on her character will
appear as so many spots on its surface.”
“Is this one of the conditions?” asked all.
“This is the sole condition,” replied the barber, placing his thumbs in
the armholes of his waistcoat and looking very wise.
“But is there no limit as to age?” they again inquired.
“Any woman from eighteen years upwards is eligible,” said the possessor
of the mirror.
“Then you will have every woman in Granada claiming the right to be
queen!” all exclaimed.
“But, first of all, they will have to justify their claim, for I will
not take any woman at her word. No; she will have to gaze into the
mirror with me by her side,” continued the barber.
The sole condition imposed on those who desired to become Queen of
Granada was made known, and was much ridiculed, as may naturally be
supposed; but, strange to say, no woman applied to the barber to have a
look into the mirror.
Days and weeks went by, but the king was no nearer getting a wife. Some
generous ladies would try and prevail on their lady friends to make the
trial, but none seemed ambitious of the honour.
The king, be it known, was a very handsome man, and was beloved by all
his subjects for his many virtues; therefore it was surprising that none
of the lovely ladies who attended court should try to become his wife.
Many excuses and explanations were given. Some were already engaged to
be married, others professed themselves too proud to enter the barber’s
shop, while others assured their friends that they had resolved on
remaining single.
The latter seem to have been cleverer in their excuses, for it was soon
observable that no man in Granada would marry, assigning as a reason for
this that until the king was suited they would not think of marrying;
though the real cause may have been due to the objection of the ladies
to look into the mirror.
The fathers of families were much annoyed at the apparent want of female
ambition in their daughters, while the mothers were strangely silent on
the matter.
Every morning the king would ask the barber if any young lady had
ventured on looking into the mirror; but the answer was always the
same—that many watched his shop to see if others went there, but none
had ventured in.
“Ah, Granada, Granada!” exclaimed the king; “hast thou no daughter to
offer thy king? In this Alhambra did my predecessors enjoy the company
of their wives; and am I to be denied this natural comfort?”
“Royal master,” said the barber, “in those days the magic mirror was
unknown and not so much required. Men then only studied the arts, but
now is science added to their studies.”
“You mean, then,” asked the king, “that an increase in knowledge has
done no good?”
“I mean more than that,” continued the barber; “I mean that people are
worse than they used to be.”
“‘God is great!’ is what these walls proclaim; to know is to be wise,”
urged the king.
“Not always, sir,” said the barber; “for the majority of men and women
in the present know too much and are not too wise, although some deem
them wise for being cunning. There is as great a distance between wisdom
and cunning as there is between the heavens and the earth.”
“Barber,” shouted the king, “thou shalt get me a wife bright as the day,
pure as dew, and good as gold—one who shall not be afraid to look into
thy magic mirror!”
“Sir,” replied the barber, “the only magic about my mirror is that which
the evil consciences of the ladies of Granada conjure up. The simple
shepherdess on the mountain side would brave the magic power of any
mirror, strong in the consciousness of innocence; but would you marry
such a lowly one?”
“Such a woman is worthy to be a queen, for she is a pearl without
price,” answered the king. “Go, bid her come here; and, in the presence
of my assembled court, let the gentle shepherdess look into the mirror,
after thou hast told her of the danger of so doing.”
The barber was not long in bringing the shepherdess to court with him;
and it having been proclaimed throughout the city that the trial was
going to be made, the principal hall was soon filled with all the grand
ladies and knights of the king’s household.
When the shepherdess entered the royal presence she felt very shy at
being surrounded by so much grandeur; but she knew enough about her own
sex to understand that they inwardly considered her not quite so ugly as
they audibly expressed her to be.
The king was very much pleased with her appearance, and received her
very kindly, telling her that if she desired to be his wife she would
have to gaze into the magic mirror, and if she had done aught which was
not consistent with her maidenly character, the mirror would show as
many stains on its surface as there might be blemishes on her heart.
“Sir,” replied the maiden, “we are all sinners in the sight of God, they
say; but I am a poor shepherdess, and surrounded by my flock. I have
known what it is to be loved, for, when the sheep have perceived danger,
they have come to me for protection. The wild flowers have been my only
ornament, the sky almost my only roof, and God my truest and best
friend. Therefore, I fear not to look into that magic mirror; for
although I have no ambition to become queen, yet am I not lacking in
that pride which is born of the desire to be good.”
Saying which, she walked up to the mirror and gazed into it, blushing
slightly, perhaps at the sight of her own beauty, which before she had
only seen portrayed in the still brook.
The court ladies surrounded her; and when they saw that the magic mirror
showed no stains on its surface, they snatched it from her, and
exclaimed—
“There is no magic in it—a cheat has been put on us!”