Tenali Raman was a minister in the court of king Krishnadeva Raya. Once, the entire city started having problems with rats that ate everything. But there were fewer cats in the city. So, the king asked everyone to have a cat in the house. Now the cats needed milk. Because every house did not have cows, the king gave them cows too. Raman was very lazy. Since he also loved to drink milk, he did a clever thing.
He boiled the milk and gave it to the cat. It burnt the cat’s mouth while it was sipping the hot milk. Raman did this for a few days and then started drinking the milk himself. The cat became thinner each day.
One day the king said he would reward the best fat cat but was disappointed to see Raman’s cat. Raman said his cat hated milk. So, he was put behind bar. The king asked him to prove. Raman brought the milk for the cat that ran away thinking it was hot again. The king was convinced and freed Raman, who was happy. He had his way and drank lots of milk.
