There was a large trade in cotton in Delhi, there was even a special cotton bazaar. And suddenly cotton began to disappear from the market. No matter how much they searched, they could not find the thieves. They put a guard at the market gates, the guards kept going around the rows, and the cotton kept being stolen and stolen. No one except the most eminent resellers was allowed inside the bazaar. It was these intermediaries that the merchants suspected. However, it was impossible to directly blame them, and the merchants had to go to Birbal for help. They gathered as a whole team, came to Birbal and told about their misfortune, asking for help to protect their property. Birbal calmed the merchants down and released them. The next day he ordered to call the resellers. When they assembled, Birbal spoke to them like this:
“There’s nothing to talk about the theft, we already know everything.” Thieves even hide cotton in turbans! Well, aren't they stupid?
Three of the traders were indeed thieves. Hearing Birbal's words, they, of course, could not resist and ran their fingers over their turbans. Everyone thought to themselves: “Isn’t there a piece of cotton stuck to my turban?”
And Birbal immediately identified the three thieves and immediately shouted to the guards:
- Come on, grab these three! Give them the whip! The thieves got scared and confessed everything. Birbal ordered to collect money from them for the stolen goods and put them in prison.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru