One day, Birbal’s neighbours, Rashid and Sadeeq, were fighting against each other. He asked them, “What is the matter?” Both of them led him to a mango tree. Sadeeq said, “Birbal, I have nurtured this tree since when it was a sapling. But Rashid says the mangoes belong to him.” Rashid said to Birbal, “This […]
Once, a budding writer invited Birbal to tea. He had finished writing his first book and wanted to read it out to Birbal. Birbal accepted the invitation. When the writer had read a couple of chapters, Birbal realised it was a badly written book. He wanted to leave. But the writer said, “There’s another chapter
One full-moon night, while Birbal and his family were deep in slumber, a thief entered the house through the window. He took off his shirt and spread it on the floor. He went into the store room and gathered whatever he could. While he was busy, he knocked down a pot. Birbal woke up due
There was a miser in Akbar’s kingdom. His wife would say, “You are rich, but you never spend a penny. You never give me anything.” The miser turned a deaf ear to her complaints. One day, he went to the goldsmith and bought a brick of gold. When he got home, he buried it under
Once, Akbar, Birbal and all the courtiers went hunting. After a while, they were tired and decided to relax in the shade. They dismounted from their horses and tied them near by. While everyone rested, the soldiers fed peas to the horses. A monkey was sitting on a tree near by, watching the horses. Suddenly,
One day, two brothers stormed into Emperor Akbar’s court. Their father had left them his property and they were fighting over it. While the younger brother wanted his share of the property, the elder brother wanted it all for himself. As they continued to quarrel, Birbal intervened. He told Akbar, “Your Majesty, long ago, after
One day, Akbar said to his courtiers, “I grant you all a day’s holiday to visit the annual fair.” Everyone thanked Akbar and left for the fair. Birbal went to the fair along with his family. There, Birbal saw a learned man. The man was actually a thief. He befriended Birbal. Soon, he was awestruck
One morning, Akbar and Birbal were strolling in the royal garden. Many fruit trees, flowering plants and shrubs grew in the garden. The fragrance of the flowers pervaded the air. Akbar and Birbal were talking to each other and walked into the part of the garden where the gardener was at work. They watched him
There was a temple on a hill. The priest of the temple was very old. One day, he passed away. When Akbar heard the news, he sent Birbal to choose the next priest. Birbal stood at the foot of the hill and told the candidates, “Climb up the hill and meet me in the temple
Birbal had a troublesome neighbour. He was jealous of Birbal and always tried to create problems for him. One day, the neighbour let his bull loose in the same pasture where Birbal’s cattle were grazing. The bull killed one of Birbal’s oxen. Birbal’s servant came running to him and gave him the news. Birbal took
One day, Akbar asked, “Birbal! What is friendship?” Birbal said, “There were two friends named Ali and Sikander. They had a fight and Sikander slapped Ali. Ali felt bad. He wrote in the sand, ‘Today my friend slapped me.’” “What happened next?” asked the emperor. “They walked on and reached a lake. They were bathing
Once, a learned man went to Akbar’s court. Akbar asked, “What brings you here?” The man said, “Your Majesty, with your permission I would like Birbal to test me.” Akbar agreed. Birbal brought a huge jar and filled it with big stones. Birbal asked the man, “Can I add something more to this jar?” The
One day, a poor man was walking by the marketplace, when he saw a pink pouch lying on the ground. There were a hundred gold coins in it. Just then, a man shouted, “Has anyone found my pouch? Whoever returns it shall be rewarded.” The poor man gave him the pouch. The rich man counted
One day, Birbal was on his way home from Emperor Akbar’s court. He saw a couple of donkeys fighting. Soon, another donkey came there and tried to interfere. Birbal got off his horse and kept watching the donkeys. When passers-by saw Birbal standing there, they were curious to know why he was looking at the
Emperor Akbar wanted his courtiers to be like Birbal. One day, he said, “Birbal, tell us how wise people should conduct themselves.” Birbal began his speech. But he noticed that the courtiers were busy talking to one another. So he fell silent for a few moments. Then he said, “There was a beautiful lady. She