Once upon a time there lived a fakir who was a great lover of parrots. He bought them at the market, taught them all sorts of wisdom and sold them to rich and noble houses. This is how he earned money for a living.
The fakir trained a good parrot and sold it to the padishah himself. The padishah liked the beauty and learning of the bird, and he entrusted it to a clever, intelligent servant.
“You will feed, water and groom this parrot,” he said. - Look, take care of him like the apple of your eye. If anything happens to him, report to me immediately. But look, whoever brings the news of the parrot's death will pay with his head.
And it had to happen that the parrot soon died. The unfortunate servant's heart sank: “If I say, they will take off my head, but if I hide it, the truth will be revealed not today or tomorrow, it will be even worse - they will be executed with a cruel death.” Wherever you throw it, everything is a wedge, certain death awaits him. “Only Birbal can save me,” the servant thought and went to bow to the padishah’s wise adviser. He told about his trouble and asked and prayed to save his life.
“Don’t be afraid, you’ll see, everything will work out,” Birbal consoled him.
He went to the padishah and began with tears in his voice:
- Patron of the poor! Our parrot, our... parrot...
- What - he died?! - the padishah cried, seeing that Birbal was not himself.
But Birbal was in no hurry with the news.
- No, what are you, the ruler of the world! He probably became an ascetic. He lay on his back, with his beak to the sky, closed his eyes and did not breathe - like a true yogi.
- Yes, he just died, don’t you understand? - Akbar was surprised.
“Whatever you say, I think that he became an ascetic and took a vow of silence.” Best of all, Your Majesty, let’s go and have a look together.
The padishah agreed, and they came to the garden together. Looking at the bird, the padishah chuckled.
- Birbal! You are considered a sage, but you didn’t realize that the parrot was dead. If you had told me right away, I wouldn’t have come here in vain.
- Yes, I was afraid, sir! - Birbal replied to this. “After all, if I had been in the servant’s place, if I had reported that the parrot had died, you would probably have blown my head off!”
Then the padishah remembered his order. Birbal's cunning amused him. Having praised him, Akbar gave him a generous reward and released him. And Birbal gave the reward to the servant. So, thanks to Birbal, the poor servant not only survived, but also became rich.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru