Once, Akbar and Birbal were invited by the King of Persia in his kingdom to a royal dinner party. The party was organized by the Persian king in honour of Akbar’s achievements in the battlefield. A lot of presents were showered on the Emperor.
During the time of their stay in Persia, people had already started talking about Akbar and Birbal, especially about Birbal’s wit and intelligence. The Persian King had a habit of testing people whenever he could. So, he thought of testing Birbal as Birbal was gaining in fame.
One night, the Persian king organized a special party for Akbar and Birbal. When both of them arrived in the party, the Persian king grabbed Birbal for a chit-chat. The king first asked about how his stay was and if he was enjoying the beauty of his kingdom.
“What do you think of the party? All has been done just for you and your Emperor, my friend,” said the king of Persia. “I did not know that so many guests would be here. The hall is full of them,” said Birbal.
The king replied, “Well, there is a twist, my witty friend. And, in the twist lies an interesting riddle for you. Let us see how you solve it.” “Why not, your majesty! I would love to take on the challenge presented by you,” said Birbal.
The king, then explained what the riddle was, “Birbal, as you earlier pointed out, the hall is full of guests. What if I tell you that all of them are my employees and only one person is a guest among them?”
As soon as Birbal heard it, he started glaring at each and every person present in the hall. The king further said, “Now you have to figure out which one is the guest.”
“No problem, your majesty. But do me just one favour. Before I tell you who the guest is, please tell a joke in front of everyone,” said Birbal. The king instantly agreed.
After the King had told the joke, Birbal walked up to him and pointed out who the guest was. To the king’s surprise, Birbal’s guess was correct. Akbar felt very proud of his favourite minister as he stood up to his reputation. Out of curiosity, the king asked him how he was able to get the correct answer.
Birbal explained, “Do you know why I requested you to tell a joke. The moment you finished, I observed every person. All of them were laughing, except one. And that is how I found the guest.”
The king became a little confused as how this helped him. So, Birbal further explained, “Only an employee would feel obliged to do something which his employer expects him to. But a guest is not. Only one man was there on whose face, I could see boredom instead of laughter.”
