The King of Iran was all praises for Birbal. He said to Akbar, “My friend! I am very much impressed by the intelligence of your favourite minister. He deserves to be at such a high position.” Akbar replied, “Indeed! Because of him I don’t have to worry much about anything as he takes care of everything with much efficiency.”
One scholar in the kingdom of Iran didn’t like that Birbal had become even the King of Iran’s favourite. So, he thought that he would put up a challenge in front of Birbal and would defeat him miserably in front of his own King and also the Emperor of Agra.
He called out to Birbal and said loudly so that he might be audible to everyone in the court, “Birbal, you are so proud of yourself and your intelligence. Why don’t you take up a challenge thrown by me and prove your efficiency? Tell me whether you will answer a hundred easy questions or one difficult question.” Birbal confidently replied, “Ask me one difficult question.”
The scholar asked, “Tell me what came first, chicken or the egg.” Within a few seconds, Birbal replied, “The chicken came first.” The scholar then asked Birbal to give a proof of his answer as he thought that he would not be able to give an explanation. Birbal replied, “My friend, I think you are forgetting that I had to answer only one difficult question. The explanation makes it another question.”
Feeling embarrassed, the scholar left the court. Again impressed with Birbal’s intelligence, the King of Iran showered gold and more gifts on Birbal.
Now, it was the time for both Akbar and Birbal to say godbye to the King and kingdom of Iran. At the time of departure, the King asked Birbal, “Now that you are leaving, I would like to know how you would compare me and your very own Emperor Akbar.”
Birbal replied, “Your majesty, you are like a full moon. But the Emperor is like a crescent-shaped quarter moon.” This made the King very happy. However, it angered Emperor Akbar a lot. But he did not utter a single word to Birbal.
As both departed from the kingdom of Iran for their own homeland, Akbar expressed his disappointment. He said, “Birbal, I always thought that you are loyal to me. But I was wrong to believe that. You just showed me as you insulted me with your answer in front of the King of Iran.”
Birbal explained, “Jahapannah! You did not get the hidden meaning of my answer. Let me explain this to you. The full moon turns small with every passing day. But the quarter moon always grows bigger with the passage of every single day. I will always remain loyal to you and our Hindustan.”
