Once, a horse trader came to visit Akbar. He had some fine horses and wanted the emperor to buy them. Akbar liked the horses and bought a few of them. He wanted more horses and paid money in advance to the trader. The trader said, “I shall bring the horses tomorrow, Your Majesty,” and left. He never returned. Birbal did not like the way his emperor had been cheated. One day, when Akbar asked Birbal to make a list of fools in the kingdom, Birbal included Akbar’s name in it. Akbar was furious and demanded to know why Birbal had called him a fool. Birbal replied, “Didn’t a horse trader cheat you once?” Akbar said, “So what?” Birbal replied, “Why did you trust a stranger without inquiring about him first? I will remove your name from this list of fools when the horse trader returns.” Akbar realised his mistake.
The Horse Trader
