oduct of nature. Now,
the artificial flowers were so exactly modelled in imitation of the
others that it was thought impossible for him to answer the question,
from the distance at which she held the bouquets. But Solomon was not to
be baffled by a woman with scraps of painted paper: he caused a window
in the audience-chamber to be opened, when a cluster of bees immediately
flew in and alighted upon one of the bouquets, while not one of the
insects fixed upon the other. By this device Solomon was enabled to
distinguish between the natural and the artificial flowers.

Again the Queen of Sheba endeavoured to outwit the sagacious monarch.
She brought before him a number of boys and girls, apparelled all alike,
and desired him to distinguish those of one sex from those of the other,
as they stood before him. Solomon caused a large basin full of water to
be fetched in, and ordered them all to wash their hands. By this
expedient he discovered the males from the females; since the boys
merely washed their hands, while the girls washed also their arms.[76]

[76] Among the Muhammedan legends concerning Solomon and the
Queen of Sheba, it is related that, after he had
satisfactorily answered all her questions and solved her
riddles, "before he would enter into more intimate
relations with her, he desired to clear up a certain
point respecting her, and to see whether she actually
had cloven feet, as several of his demons would have him
to believe; or whether they had only invented the defect
from fear lest he should marry her, and beget children,
who, as descendants of the genii [the mother of Bilkis
is said to have been of that race of beings], would be
even more mighty than himself. He therefore caused her
to be conducted through a hall, whose floor was of
crystal, and under which water tenanted by every variety
of fish was flowing. Bilkis, who had never seen a
crystal floor, supposed that there was water to be
passed through, and therefore raised her robe slightly,
when the king discovered to his great joy a beautifully
shaped female foot. When his eye was satisfied, he
called to her: 'Come hither; there is no water here, but
only a crystal floor; and confess thyself to the faith
in the one only God.' Bilkis approached the throne,
which stood at the