Once, during the rainy season people were talking only about the hilsa fish. A king was fed up of hearing about the fish. He told his jester, “Stop people from mentioning the word hilsa for a single morning and I will give you a reward.” The jester agreed. Next day, a hefty woman with long hairy arms and big feet came into the court with her head covered. Everyone stared at her and whispered, “Who on earth is she?” The king looked at the veiled woman and asked, “Who are you?” She did not reply. And so it went on the whole morning. Finally, the king was fed up and got up to leave. At that moment, the woman showed her face. The king was shocked as it was none other than his jester. The jester laughed and said, “Your Majesty! No one has mentioned hilsa this morning! Isn’t that what you wanted?” The king had a hearty laugh.
The Clever Jester
