One day, Akbar’s guards brought a man to the court and said, “Your Majesty, this granary officer was caught taking bribes.” Akbar said, “Put him in prison.” Another courtier said, “Your Majesty, let him count the waves of the Yamuna.” Akbar agreed. After a few days, Akbar asked Birbal, “What about that corrupt granary officer? […]
Akbar had a courtier named Sultan. He wanted his son to become the royal treasurer. But Akbar and Birbal did not want this, as Sultan’s son was a rogue. Sultan thought, ‘If I turn the emperor against Birbal, my son can become the royal treasurer.’ One day, Birbal was late for the court. Sultan whispered
One day, Birbal saw his neighbour, Raghuram, yelling at a fortune-teller, asking him to go away. Birbal asked the fortune-teller, “Why did he drive you out?” The fortune-teller said, “I asked him to stop being greedy as that would lead to his downfall. I advised him to donate alms to the poor. How could I
Akbar had a habit of collecting beautiful candlesticks. He had a special chamber where his collection was displayed. The servants were given strict instructions to be careful while cleaning the room. One day, while a servant was dusting the mantelpiece, one of the candlesticks fell and broke. Akbar was beside himself with rage. He ordered
One day, Birbal decided to visit his relatives in another city. He set off on his carriage. Birbal’s relatives were not hospitable people. They did not like to entertain guests. When they saw Birbal’s carriage approaching, they quickly thought of a plan to send him away. They went to the balcony and pretended to have
Akbar had a special cupboard. Whoever touched the cupboard would get stuck to it. One day, Akbar called Birbal and said, “Please get me an apple from that cupboard.” When Birbal touched the cupboard, he got stuck. Try as he might, he couldn’t free himself. Then onwards, Akbar often teased Birbal. He would ask, “How
One evening, Akbar and Birbal were walking along the banks of the Yamuna. Akbar loved the sound of the flowing river. He told Birbal, “Listen to the river, Birbal. I feel it is crying. Can you tell me why it is crying?” Birbal stared at the river for a while. He thought, ‘This is a
One day, an old lady visited Birbal. She was in tears. Birbal asked, “What happened?” The old lady said, “I had a son who died in battle and I am all alone.” Birbal wiped her tears and said, “Do you have anything to give the emperor?” The old lady said, “Yes, my son’s sword. Birbal
There was an unfortunate village that had no drinking water. The villagers had to walk miles to fetch water. Aruni, the young and courageous girl of this village, decided to find a solution to the water problem. Encouraged by her geography teacher, Aruni asked everyone in the village to collect rain water, but no one
Mahesh was a poor but brave rickshaw puller. He lived in a slum with his wife and children. One day, he was having lunch when there was a loud noise from their neighbour’s house. The woman who lived next door came running out, screaming ‘fire’! The gas cylinder in her house had started leaking. Now
Once, Akbar and his courtiers were discussing the qualities of generosity and kindness. Akbar said, “The hand of the giver is always above that of the receiver.” Everyone in the court pondered over the thought and agreed with him. However, Birbal said, “I do not agree with you, Your Majesty. The hand of the giver
Rajesh was a young man. He liked to go for a walk every evening. Normally, he would meet many people, but now people were scared of a gang of criminals. Actually, a gang of chain snatchers was operating in their area. Many women had lost their valuables. Rajesh was walking down the road, when he
Nasser was a very lazy boy. He liked to spend his whole time sleeping in the sun. His mother was afraid that he would become a vagabond, and so she would always nag him to do some work. One day, Nasser was in a park to hide from his mother’s nagging when he saw a
Shashi was 10 years old girl. She lived with her parents in a small town in Uttar Pradesh in India. One day, her parents left her at a friend’s house for the day. Shashi was playing on the roof when she saw a man come to the neighbour’s house. He rang the bell. When someone
Ramu used to work at the landlord’s house. His job was to take care of the landlord’s youngest son Ajay. Ajay was a very active child and Ramu was always on his toes to take care of him. One day, while playing on the riverside, Ajay ran far ahead of Ramu. Suddenly, a car stopped