Princess Of Jerusalem

A parable:
At the building of King Solomon's Temple, one of the workmen had his lunch brought to him each day by his daughter. She would sit and watch him, and eventually she asked if she could try her hand at cutting stone. At first he thought she was foolish, for this was man's work, but she persisted, and he could not resist her. He showed her how to shape the stone, and it soon became apparent that she had a natural talent. While she was not as strong as the young men, she had a surer touch than most.
There was not much that escaped the eye of Hiram Abif, as he oversaw the work. He saw how the girl helped her father, and how she improved day by day. Finally, Hiram Abif bade her father to bring her to a meeting of the workmen on the ground floor of King Solomon's Temple. She feared that he would chastise her, but to everyone's surprise, he insisted that she be initiated as an Entered Apprentice. No one dared to dispute the will of Hiram Abif, and it was done as he said. After the meeting, Adoniram came up to Hiram Abif and said, "How could you do this? From time immemorial only men have been initiated as Masons. It is against all our ancient landmarks." Hiram Abif smiled, and said, "It wasn't my idea. God made her a Mason. I just agreed to help her improve herself in Masonry."