Once upon a time, a man approached Emperor Akbar’s court, seeking employment. After listening to him for a while and testing his intelligence, Emperor Akbar appointed him as a tax collector. Birbal was also present in the court and, after observing the man for some time, warned Akbar that the man seemed overly clever and would likely engage in dishonest practices. However, the man efficiently took charge of the tax collection responsibilities.
After some time, a few individuals approached Emperor Akbar with complaints against the officer. The complaints were relatively minor, and initially, they went unnoticed. However, as allegations of accepting bribes and troubling the public surfaced, Akbar contemplated transferring him to a place where he would have no opportunity for dishonesty.
Â
Akbar decided to appoint him as a clerk in the revenue office. Akbar privately remarked to himself that now the man would not be able to engage in any dishonest activities related to horse fodder.
Upon reaching the position of the clerk, the man began extorting money from those responsible for caring for the horses, claiming to check the weight of the fodder. People, annoyed and troubled by this, started giving him a rupee each according to the number of horses.
This information reached Akbar after some time. Akbar thought that now he would not be able to engage in any dishonesty here as well.
After a few days, the man reached the banks of the Yamuna River. There, too, he used his cunning tactics, claiming to count the waves. He told those ferrying boats that they couldn’t leave until he finished counting the waves. Hearing this, boatmen began offering him bribes to continue their work.
This news eventually reached Emperor Akbar as well. He thought that now he would not be able to engage in any dishonesty here either.
After some time, Akbar sent a written order: “Do not stop the boats; let them go.”
Upon receiving this order, the man, being clever, changed the wording to “Stop the boats; do not let them go.” With this slight alteration, he continued his mischief.
Eventually, Akbar got fed up with the man’s antics and dismissed him from his position. Akbar realized that he should have taken strict action against him in the first instance.
The story teaches us that dishonesty and cunningness persist wherever an unscrupulous person goes.
