A barber borrowed a large sum of money from Tenali. One day, Raman went to the barber’s house when he was entertaining guests and demanded the money. The barber, embarrassed, promised to come to his place the next day with the money. Next day, the barber way laid Tenali on a deserted stretch of road and said, “I’ll chop off your nose, That’ll teach you a lesson you’ ll never forget.” “If I write off your loan, will you forgive me?” “I’ll make out a receipt right away,” said Tenali, “But the receipt has no value unless there is a witness”. “Why don’t we make that old peepal tree a witness.” They stood under the peepal tree, and Tenali wrote out the receipt and gave it to the barber. But the very next day, the barber received a summons from the king. When he went to the king’s palace, he found Tenali there. “Did you borrow money from Tenali?” asked the king. “I did. But I have repaid it,” said the barber and triumphantly taking out the receipt from his pocket, handed it over to the king. “So your witness was a banyan tree,” said the king, looking at the receipt. “Anyway, this receipt is useless,” said the king. “It does not carry Tenali’s signature, only the witness’s.” Taking the paper from the king’s hand he stared at it and turned pale. Instead of putting his signature at the bottom, Tenali had scribbled, “ Old Peepal Tree.”
Tenali and the Barber
