Akbar and Birbal by AMITA SARIN

Author:AMITA SARIN [Sarin, Amita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9788184750065
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2016-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

The Five Greatest Fools in Agra

Akbar was tired of the endless debates in his court. He was sick of listening to wise men and scholars. They were so serious and boring. He wanted to have some fun for a change. He decided he wanted to listen to some fools instead.

Akbar summoned Birbal. ‘Tomorrow morning, I want you to go into Agra and find me the five biggest fools in the city. Bring them to my palace by the end of the day.’

Birbal was neither surprised nor taken aback by this strange request. He knew the king was in a strange mood. He knew better than to argue with him. He bowed low, and touched his head with his right palm, as was the customary greeting for servants to the king. ‘But of course, Your Majesty. Your wish is my command. By the end of the day tomorrow, you will have your five fools.’

Next morning, at sunrise, Birbal set off for the city. He didn’t have any idea of how to find fools. He decided to walk around in the more crowded part of the town. The more people there were to look at, the better were his chances of finding a fool. He sat down in a corner of the bazaar and waited.

Before long, he saw a curious sight. Along came a woodcutter, seated on a donkey, carrying a bundle of wood on his head. He could have strapped it behind him on the donkey.

Birbal hastened to the woodcutter’s side. ‘Excuse my curiosity, sir, but could you tell me why you carry your burden on your head, when you have such a fine donkey to carry it for you?’

The woodcutter was delighted to have such a refined gentleman address him, a mere woodcutter, as ‘sir’.

‘This good donkey has worked for me all his life. Now he is old and feeble. I do not wish to give him too heavy a load to bear. So, although I sit on his back, I carry the wood I have chopped on my own head.’

Birbal stifled a smile. Here was his first fool. He said to the man, ‘How wonderful to meet a man as kind as you in these otherwise cruel times. Although he is a beast of burden, you share your donkey’s load. How lucky he is to have a master like you. Come with me, kind sir, and I will make sure that neither you nor your donkey carries a heavy load ever again.’

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