A family of well-trained mice lives in this cellar. When the attendant rings a bell and scatters bread upon the floor, these tiny creatures run out from behind the barrels.
Juan had also sold the small dagger of Moorish design. It had come from the town of Cordoba (kôr´dō̍-vä), once an important center. The famous Mosque of Cordoba, with its striped arches, was built by the Moors. But it has since been made into a Christian church.
King Charles V is supposed to have said to the Christian builders, "You have built what can be found anywhere, but you have spoiled what cannot be found anywhere else.
| THE MOSQUE, CORDOBA |
Cordoba is a white city of twisting streets. There are golden knobs upon some of the doors; ragged beggars fill the streets; and children seem to grow in doorways.
ANDALUSIAN HAT
One sees in Cordoba those broad-brimmed hats which belong to that part of Spain called Andalucia (än´dä-lo͞o-thē´ä).
A legend tells how Andalucia received its name. Every saint in heaven had been given a spot over which to rule—every one, except poor little Saint Lucia. So she searched the world for a country, but most of the world had already been taken by other saints.
One day, however, she came to a land of sunshine and flowers, with which she was delighted. She asked if she might have it for her own, and a mysterious voice answered and said to her, "Anda, Lucia! (Go there, Lucia!)"