One day, the royal gardener went to Birbal and said, “Sir, someone has stolen my gold coins! I had hidden them under the pear tree.” Birbal asked, “Had anyone seen you hiding it?” The gardener said “Nobody else knew about it.” Birbal called the royal doctor and asked, “Have you treated anybody with medicines made from the root of a pear tree?” He said, “Yes, I had treated a merchant with its roots a few days ago. I had asked the merchant’s servant to get the roots.” Birbal sent a messenger, asking him to bring the servant to Akbar’s court. When the servant arrived, Birbal asked him about the gold coins. The servant said, “Sir, I found the gold coins near the roots of the tree. Had I known they belonged to someone, I wouldn’t have cast a second glance at them.” He returned the gold coins to the gardener.
The Gardener’s Gold
