Four friends started a business dealing in cotton. They stored the cotton bales in a warehouse or godown. There was a problem, however, in the godown; it was run over by rats and mice. So, they got a cat to deal with this nuisance.
The friends became very fond of the cat and patted and pampered her a lot. They got a pair of jingles for each of her feet, one friend getting a pair for one foot. The cat ran around among the bales hunting the rats and the mice. The friends were happy to watch her and to hear the jingling of her feet as she raced through the godown, jumping up and down among the bales.
One day, as she hunted, she slipped from a bale and injured one foot. The friends were very concerned. They promptly put some medicine on her foot and tied a bandage carefully on it. The cat, however, continued to wander around the godown, hunting the rats.
As she ran up and down, the
bandage got loose and trailed after her. Unfortunately, the cat knocked down a lantern and her bandage caught fire. Terrified, she ran and leapt trying to get away from the fire. The bandage slipped and fell off, but in the meantime the warehouse fire had spread and all the bales were burnt to ashes.
The friends were horrified to see their whole business burnt down. Within a few minutes they began quarrelling. Three of the friends turned on the fourth and said, “It was the foot with your jingles on which the bandage was tied. That started the fire. So now, you must pay us the cost of the damages.”
“Nonsense!” retorted the fourth friend, “You know it was an accident! I am not going to pay the damages.”
The quarrel kept getting louder and more violent. They finally decided to take the whole matter to the court of Krishnadeva Raya and seek justice. The King had great faith in the wisdom of Tenali Raman, so he asked him to settle the affair.
Tenali Raman heard both sides carefully. Then he said, “The bandaged foot was injured. You three say that it caused the fire. But it was carried into the godown by the three healthy feet. So, the three owners of the healthy feet are responsible for the fire and must pay the damages.”
The King smiled and the three friends hung their heads in shame as their cunning trick had failed in front of Tenali Raman’s wisdom.
