One day Akbar and Birbal were sitting together in the garden and enjoying a cheerful conversation. Birbal was about to leave, when suddenly the padishah detained him.
- My friend! For several days now I have been thinking about one thing, but I keep forgetting to tell you. One doctor is preparing me a medicine for which he needs cow's milk. Could you get it for me?
No wonder they say: “He who serves, he who grieves.”
- That would be something to worry about! I will deliver cow milk in a week,” Birbal calmly replied.
“It doesn’t matter if more than a week passes, but you definitely need to get milk.”
“I’ll try,” Birbal replied and took his leave.
At home he retired and, busy with his thoughts, did not notice how the day ended and evening came. At this time, as usual, the daughter came to call her father for dinner. She saw him and almost gasped - he even became haggard from concern. She stands and stands, and Birbal doesn’t even notice her. She became even more worried and asked:
- What concern is bothering you, father?
Birbal's eldest daughter was a smart and quick-witted girl, and more than once she helped her father with advice. But Birbal did not think that she could help him in such a difficult matter, and he kept refusing. And the daughter does not lag behind, asking her father why he is sad, what kind of trouble has happened? Birbal had to tell him what a difficult task the padishah had given him.
- That's all? Is this why you are so upset? Let's go have dinner, and by the time I myself will give an answer to the padishah, it's not difficult.
His daughter's words calmed Birbal a little.
Two days later, my daughter collected a bunch of old clothes, tied them in a bundle and went to the river at midnight. She wet the linen and began to beat it against the stones as hard as she could. “Chap-chap-chap!” - echoed loudly in the night.
And nearby, on the river bank, stood the palace of the padishah. The noise on the river frightened Akbar's first dream. He called the guards and ordered:
- Look who is washing clothes at midnight? Bring the laundress to me.
The guards quickly went down to the water and were very surprised, even embarrassed, when they saw that a beautiful slender girl was washing clothes (men from the Dhobi caste of washerwomen usually do laundry in India). They called out to her once, twice, but she didn’t seem to hear, just banging and banging her laundry. Finally, the guard came closer to her:
- Hey, who are you? Haven't found another time to do laundry? Come with us, the padishah himself demands you.
All the girl wanted was to get to the padishah, but she tried to hide her joy.
- What do you want to do with me? “I won’t go, I won’t go for anything,” she said with tears.
- Shut up, unfortunate thing, don’t argue, come with us if they ask.
The girl left her laundry on the shore and followed the guards. When she was brought to the padishah, she bowed politely and, lowering her eyes, modestly stood aside, awaiting questions. The awakened padishah was furious.
- Hey, you unfortunate thing! Who are you? - he shouted angrily. “And why did you decide to wash clothes near the palace at midnight?”
The girl saw that the padishah was bursting with anger, and began to wail, trembling and stuttering:
- Your Grace! Your Grace! Yes, I... I... The padishah saw that the girl was not herself out of fear, and his voice softened.
- Well, why are you scared? Explain everything to me clearly, and I will forgive you. If you don’t say it, it will be bad for you.
- Lord of the world! I definitely needed to wash all my clothes today, so I had to go to the river at night.
- Oh, you wretched one! What kind of trouble happened to you?
- What can I say, ruler of the world! Today at noon my father gave birth to a child, and I had a lot of worries all day. Only now I’m finally free, I look, but there’s no clean linen, so I had to go wash it - I urgently need the linen.
The strange words of the girl amazed the padishah. He became indignant:
- Well, you’re stupid! What are you talking about! Can a man give birth?
It was here that the girl had an opportunity.
- Lord of the world! - she said slyly. “If a man cannot give birth, then where will the ox’s milk come from?”
The padishah immediately remembered his conversation with Birbal, and he asked in surprise:
“Aren’t you the daughter of the wise Birbal?”
- You guessed it, ruler of the world, I am his eldest daughter.
Akbar liked her cunning trick. He generously rewarded the girl and saw her off with honor. They seated her in a palanquin and sent her home. Returning to her father, the girl respectfully touched his feet and told him about her night conversation with the padishah. Birbal was very pleased with his intelligent daughter, who relieved her father of onerous worries.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru