One day in the beautiful streets of Granada, this discussion occurred. A man said, “What a sad thing. He’s a handsome man but hasn’t married.” Another said, “Will he ever choose a wife? Have the women of Granada run out?” Another said, “Will he remain alone?” Another said, “Don’t say that. He deserves a wife to be our queen.” Another said, “Let’s all pray for the beloved king to find his beautiful wife.” Another said, “The king is a generous man and looks for the suitable lady.” Another said, “And who will this lady be?” This question puzzled all the residents of Granada for a long time.
The king said, “Whoever I marry will be the queen of Granada. She must have a strong character and must love herself and the kingdom as well, and be forgiving and kind.” The servant said to him, “But how will we know?” The king said, “This is a problem. I will only marry a lady who has a white heart.” The servant said, “We will need something magical to help us with this.”
The king was very busy thinking about what his servant said. He made a decision and summoned the barber he trusted. The next day, he met the barber and said to him, “I need your help. The king has decided to use the magic mirror.” The barber had a magic mirror he had found in a cave long ago. The king knew about this matter and had coveted it for many years. The king had decided to use it to find the bride. The mirror shows the true metal of the person who looks into it. There’s no restriction on who can look at the mirror. The only condition is looking at the mirror directly. The news spread like fire in dry brushwood. Every day, women gathered before the barber to know who would dare to look into the magic mirror.
Days passed, and none of them dared. The ladies grew their hair longer because they refused to go to the barber, and fathers were angry with their daughters. The women of Granada preferred never to marry rather than enter the test and marry the king. Some were very afraid of looking even into a normal mirror. After the ladies stopped going to the barber, he began working only with men.
The king said, “This is terrible.” The barber said to him, “My lord, there is a lady I know, and I’m confident she won’t be ashamed to look into the mirror, but she’s a shepherdess.” The king said, “Her being from a poor family won’t prevent this. True leaders come from humble origins.”
The king requested from the barber to go to her and bring her to the palace. The day of the shepherdess’s arrival at the palace became the most important day in Granada. The news spread, and people gathered around the palace. People chattered anxiously everywhere. The shepherdess entered in shyness. She was afraid and tense because of this amount of crowds.
The shepherdess said to the king, “I know all this, but we all make mistakes. I’m sure I made mistakes and took terrible decisions, but I learned from my mistakes and still learn always. I’m not ashamed of my flaws but accept them. They are the source of my strength.” After that, the shepherdess bowed to the king and stood before the mirror.
Everyone was in the utmost amazement. Her blue eyes and soft skin appeared in the utmost splendor in the mirror. She moved toward the king and found him looking at her with love. The king said, “Granada has found its queen.” Joy spread throughout the palace. Then an angry voice came, saying, “Lady, I demand to look into the mirror, and I will prove there is no magic. It’s just a trick.” The king said, “The matter is settled. We gave everyone a fair chance to look into the mirror, and you didn’t find the courage to do this. Whether there is magic in the mirror or not won’t benefit now. You should have looked into it when the opportunity presented itself.”
The king was happy because he found the ideal bride. The wedding was among the largest Granada had ever seen.
Translated story: The Magic Mirror Story