ne day Akbar asked his courtiers if they could tell him the difference between truth and falsehood in three words or less. The courtiers looked at one another in bewilderment. "What about you, Birbal?" asked the emperor. "I'm surprised that you too are silent." "I'm silent because I want to give others a chance to speak," said Birbal. "Nobody else has the answer," said the emperor. "So go ahead and tell me what the difference between truth and falsehood is — in three words or less." "Four fingers" said Birbal "Four fingers?" asked the emperor, perplexed. "That's the difference between truth and falsehood,your Majesty," said Birbal. "That which you see with your own

eyes is the truth. That which you have only heard about might not be true. More often than not, it's likely to be false." "That is right," said Akbar. "But what did you mean by saying the difference is four fingers?' "The distance between one's eyes and one's ears is the width of four fingers, Your Majesty," said Birbal, grinning.

           One Day a scholar came to the court of Emperor Akbar and challenged Birbal to answer his questions and thus prove that he was as clever as people said he was. He asked Birbal: "Would you prefer to answer a hundred easy questions or just a single difficult one?" Both the emperor and Birbal had had a difficult day and were impatient to leave. "Ask me one difficult question," sad Birbal. "Well, then, tell me," said the man, "which came first into the world, the chicken or the egg?" "The chicken," replied Birbal. "How do you know?" asked the scholar, a note of triumph in his voice. "We had agreed you would ask only one question and you have already asked it" said Birbal and he and the emperor walked away leaving the scholar gaping.

           One day the Emperor Akbar stumbled on a rock in his garden. He was in a foul mood that day and the accident made him so angry that he ordered the gardener’s arrest and execution. The next day when the gardener was asked what his last wish was before he was hanged, he requested an audience with the emperor. This wish was granted, but when the man neared the throne he loudly cleared his throat and spat at the emperor’s feet. The emperor was taken aback and demanded to know why he had done such a thing. The gardener had acted on Birbal’s advice and now Birbal stepped forward in the man’s defense. "Your Majesty," he said, "there could be no person more loyal to you than this unfortunate man. Fearing that people would say you hanged him for a trifle, he has gone out of his way to give you a genuine reason for hanging him." The emperor, realizing that he had been about to do a great injustice, set the man free.

           Birbal was missing. He and the emperor had a quarrel and Birbal had stormed out of the palace vowing never to return. Now Akbar missed him and wanted him back but no one knew where he was. Then the emperor had a brainwave. He offered a reward of 1000 gold coins to any man who could come to the palace observing the following condition. The man had to walk in the sun without an umbrella but he had to be in the shade at the same time. "Impossible," said the people. Then a villager came carrying a string cot over his head and claimed the prize. "I've walked in the sun but at the same time I was in the shade of the strings of the cot," he said. It was a brilliant solution. On interrogation the villager confessed that the idea had been suggested to him by a man living with him. "It could only be Birbal!" said the emperor, delighted. Sure enough it was Birbal and he and the emperor had a joyous reunion.

           Birbal was in Persia at the invitation of the king of that country. Parties were given in his honour and rich presents were heaped on him. On the eve of his departure for home, a nobleman asked him how he would compare the king of Persia to his own king. “Your king is a full moon,” said Birbal. “Whereas mine could be likened to the quarter moon.” The Persians were very happy. But when Birbal got home he found that Emperor Akbar was furious with him. “How could you belittle your own king!” demanded Akbar. “You are a traitor!” “No, Your Majesty,” said Birbal. “I did not belittle you. The full moon diminishes and disappears whereas the quarter moon grows from strength to strength. What I, in fact, proclaimed to the world is that your power is growing from day to day whereas that of the king of Persia is about to go into decline.” Akbar grunted in satisfaction and welcomed Birbal back with a warm embrace.

           A man who made spears and shields once came to Akbar's court. "Your Majesty, nobody can make shields and spears to equal mine," he said. "My shields are so strong that nothing can pierce them and my spears are so sharp that there's nothing they cannot pierce." "I can prove you wrong on one count certainly," said Birbal suddenly. "Impossible!" declared the man. "Hold up one of your shields and I will pierce it with one of your spears," said Birbal with a smile.

           The emperor Akbar was travelling to a distant place along with some of his courtiers. It was a hot day and the emperor was tiring of the journey. “Can’t anybody shorten this road for me?” he asked, querulously. “I can,” said Birbal. The other courtiers looked at one another, perplexed. All of them knew there was no other path through the hilly terrain. The road they were travelling on was the only one that could take them to their destination. “You can shorten the road?” said the emperor. “Well, do it.” “I will,” said Birbal. “Listen first to this story I have to tell.” And riding beside the emperor’s palanquin, he

launched upon a long and intriguing tale that held Akbar and all those listening, spellbound. Before they knew it they had reached the end of their journey. “We’ve reached?” exclaimed Akbar. “So soon!” “Well,” grinned Birbal, “you did say you wanted the road to be shortened.”