A rich landowner was on his deathbed. Gasping for breath, he told his three sons to dig under his bed when he was gone, and saying that, gave up the ghost. Some days later, the sons dug at the spot and unearthed three pots, placed one above the other. The topmost pot contained mud; the middle pot contained dried cowdung and the lowest pot contained straw. Below this pot there was a silver coin. The brothers were perplexed. “Obviously, father meant to convey some message to us through the pots and their contents,” said the eldest brother. “But what?” They wracked their brains but none of them could come up with an explanation. Finally, they decided to consult Tenali Raman who was also a family friend. Tenali laughed when the brothers put their problem before him. “The topmost pot contains mud, you say. That means he wants his eldest son to have his fields.The second pot contains cowdung.
It means he wants his second son to have his herd of cattle. The last pot contains straw. Now straw is golden-coloured. That means he wants his youngest son to have all his gold.” The brothers were happy with the way their father had apportioned his wealth and marvelled at Raman’s sagacity. “But one thing remains unexp-lained,” said the youngest brother, “The silver coin at the bottom of the pots.” “Your father knew you would come to consult me,” smiled Raman, “The coin is my fee.”
