One day, some villagers entered Akbar’s court. They bowed before Akbar and said, “Your Majesty, we will die of thirst. There are no wells in our village. Every day, we travel to the neighbouring village to bring water. Please help us!” Akbar thought, ‘I had ordered a courtier to get wells dug all over my kingdom. What happened?’ Then he sent one of his courtiers to inspect the village. Next day, the courtier said, “The wells are disappearing from the village, Your Majesty.” Akbar asked, “How is that possible?” Birbal said, “Your Majesty, let’s go there and see for ourselves.” Akbar and Birbal went on a tour of the kingdom and found that the courtier who was appointed to dig wells was lazing around and bossing over the villagers. Akbar said, “Birbal, see to it that wells are dug all over the kingdom.” Then he banished the lazy courtier.
The Lazy Courtier
