Once upon a time, Emperor Akbar, Birbal, and all the ministers were seated in the court conducting official proceedings. People from the kingdom were coming to the court one by one, presenting their problems. In the midst of this, a man arrived in the court carrying a clay pot in his hands. Everyone’s attention turned towards the pot, and Akbar asked the man, “What is in this pot?”
He replied, “Your Majesty, it contains a mixture of sugar and sand.” Akbar then inquired, “Why?” The man explained, “Forgive me if I am wrong, but I have heard many stories about Birbal’s intelligence. I want to test him. I want Birbal to separate each grain of sugar from this mixture without using water.”
Now, everyone in the court was curious to see how Birbal would accomplish this seemingly impossible task. Akbar looked at Birbal and said, “Let’s see, Birbal, how you introduce your intelligence in front of this man.” Smiling, Birbal responded, “Your Majesty, it’s my left-hand job.”
Birbal then stood up, took the pot, and headed towards the palace garden. The man followed him. In the garden, Birbal reached beneath a mango tree. With the man watching, Birbal began spreading the mixture of sand and sugar around the mango tree. Perplexed, the man asked, “What are you doing?” Birbal replied, “You will find out tomorrow.”
After this, both returned to the palace. Everyone eagerly awaited the next morning. When the court convened the next day, Akbar, all the ministers, Birbal, and the man were present. Together, they went to the mango tree in the garden.
To everyone’s surprise, only sand was found around the tree; the sugar had vanished. The man asked, “Where did the sugar go?” Birbal answered, “You will know today.”
Birbal had cleverly let ants gather around the mixture overnight, and they had taken away each grain of sugar, leaving only sand behind. Witnessing this, the man exclaimed, “Oh, I see what you did.” Birbal responded, “Now you understand.”
The story concludes with everyone laughing, appreciating Birbal’s wit. Akbar acknowledged Birbal’s cleverness, and the man admitted defeat.
Moral of the story:
Attempting to belittle someone may backfire.
