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