The Thief and the Stick

Once, a very famous astrologer came to the kingdom of Akbar. The Emperor himself had heard a lot about him, so he invited him to the palace. The astrologer felt very honoured for getting invited by the Emperor.

Akbar said to the astrologer, “I want to know your prediction about the day you will die.” The astrologer said, “Your Majesty, give me some time as I will have to make some calculations, which take a little time. Akbar gave him an hour’s time.

The next thing the astrologer did was to run to Birbal for help. He had heard that the Emperor’s favourite minister was the problem–solver. The astrologer said, “Birbal, help me! The Emperor has asked me to tell when I will die. To be honest, I don’t know the answer. Please help me to get out of the situation. I cannot appear before him without any answer.”

Birbal gave a solution to him and asked him to go confidently in front of the Emperor. When the astrologer returned in front of the Emperor, Akbar said, “I hope you are ready with your answer, O wise man.” The astrologer replied, “Yes, my lord! My calculations tell me that I will live as long as you will. In fact, I will die after you.”

 With such an answer, Akbar understood that he did not know the answer.

After a few days, a merchant came to meet Akbar.  He was crying profusely. Akbar asked, “What is the matter with you? Why are you crying?”

The merchant replied, “O lord! Someone robbed my entire house. He took all money and valuables. He did not even leave any clue. How would I survive now? You are a just Emperor. Please help me.” Akbar ordered Birbal to visit the merchant’s house and look for clues.

Birbal then went with the merchant and observed everything. There, he met his three servants. On being asked, all three of them denied. Somehow, Birbal sensed that one of them was the thief. So, he made a plan to catch the thief. He was sure that the thief would be caught easily then.

Birbal gave the three servants equally long sticks and said, “Since none of you is stepping forward and accepting the loot, I give each of you this magic stick. Remember that they are equal in length. One stick will be shortened by three inches magically. And that stick will belong to the thief. I will see all of you tomorrow morning.” The next day, Birbal asked them to show their sticks. What he saw was that one servant had cut his stick by three inches believing what Birbal had said. Thus, the thief was caught.

Leave a Comment

Shopping Cart
×

Hello!

Click one of our contacts below to chat on WhatsApp

× How can I help you?