King Krishnadeva Raya was very fond of birds and animals. He loved to have pets around the palace. Most of his subjects knew of his interest in collecting exotic birds and animals.
One day, a guard informed the court that a bird-catcher had come to present a strange bird to the King. The bird-catcher was called in and he came carrying a very multi-coloured bird in a cage. He bowed before the King and said, “Your Majesty, I have brought this rare bird for you. I caught it in a forest far away.”
“What is so special about this bird, my good man?” asked the King.
“Your Majesty, it can sing like a nightingale, talk like a parrot and dance like a peacock,” replied the bird-catcher.
“What a wonderful bird it is!” said the King, looking admiringly at it. “And you say this bird can do all this, apart from looking so beautiful.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” assured the bird-catcher.
“Just a moment, Sir. The bird has got some dirt on its feathers. It will be better to clean it up before you touch it,” intervened Tenali Raman. He turned to an attendant and asked him to fetch a container with water in it. The attendant immediately ran to carry out the order.
When he brought the water, Tenali Raman took it from him and splashed it all over the bird. In a moment the multi-coloured bird turned into a wet, hopeless-looking grey pigeon! The bird-catcher dropped the cage and fell to the ground with both palms joined in reverence. His lie had been discovered.
The King looked amazed and so did all the courtiers and attendants. The King was curious, and asked Tenali Raman, “How did you guess that the bird was a fraud?”
“Sir, look at the bird-catcher’s hands. The fingers and the nails are stained with the same colours as the bird. That was why I became suspicious. As soon as I poured water on the bird, the colours washed off,” explained Tenali Raman.
The King was angry at the deception and ordered the man to be thrown into prison. The guards took him away; the bird-catcher was frightened and shivering. It was later learnt that Tenali Raman got him released, pleading for mercy because of the poor bird-catcher’s family.
