One day, the king noticed that his favourite roses were disappearing every day. He asked the guards to find the thief. Within a few days they caught Tenali’s son stealing the roses and began to take him to the palace.
When they passed Tenali’s house, his wife told him that their son was caught. He shouted, “If the son uses his sharp teeth and tongue, he could be saved.” The son heard this and ate all the roses up before they reached the palace.
On reaching the palace the guards told the king they caught the child red-handed. On this the child asked if he was caught guilty, where the roses were. Agreeing on this the king chided the guards and said they had caught an innocent boy just to impress him. Tenali’s son was set free.
