Birbal Denies Rumor One day a man stopped Birbal in the street and began narrating his woes to him. "I've walked twenty miles to see you," he told Birbal finally, "and all along the way people kept saying you were the most generous man in the country." Birbal knew the man was going to ask him for money. "Are you going back the same way?" he asked. "Yes," said the man. "Will you do me a favor?" "Certainly," said the man. "What do you want me to do?" "Please deny the rumor of my generosity," said Birbal, walking away.

The Wicked Barber's Plight As we all know, Birbal was not only Emperor Akbar’s favourite minister but also a minister dearly loved by most of the commoners, because of his ready wit and wisdom. People used to come to him from far and wide for advise on personal matters too. However, there was a group of ministers that were jealous of his growing popularity and disliked him intensely. They outwardly showered him with praise and compliments, but on the inside they began to hatch a plot to kill him. One day they approached the king’s barber with a plan. As the barber was extremely close ... read more

Birbal Turns Tables Once Emperor Akbar was narrating his dream in the court. The dream began with Akbar and Birbal walking towards each other on a dark night. It was so dark that they could not see each other, and so collided and fell. The Emperor said - "Fortunately for me, I fell into a sea of Paayzam (an Indian sweets made with milk and semolina), but guess what Birbal fell into?" Courtiers asked curiously - "What, Your Majesty?" "A gutter." The whole court resounded with laughter. The Emperor was thrilled that at least for once he had been able to score over Birbal. But Birbal was ... read more

Best Flowers One day Akbar was taking a walk in his Royal gardens with several courtiers. Many flowers were flowering at that time of season. A poet pointed out towards a beautiful flower and said, "Look Jahaanpanaah, how beautiful flower that is? No man can produce such a beautiful thing as this." Birbal was also there. He said, "I don't agree with this, sometimes man can make more beautiful things than this." Akbar said, "Oh no Birbal, you are talking nonsense. This flower is really very beautiful." After a few days, Birbal presented Akbar a very skilled craftsman from Agra. He present ... read more

Question for Question One day Akbar asked Birbal, "Birbal, can you tell me how many bangles are on your wife's hand?" Birbal said, "No, Huzoor, I cannot." "You cannot? Although everyday you see her hand, still you cannot tell how many bangles are on her hand. How is that?" said Akbar. Birbal said, "Let's go to the garden, Your Majesty. And I will tell you "How is that" and they both went to the garden. They both went down a small staircase which led to the garden. After reaching in the garden Birbal asked, "You daily climb up and down this small staircase, could you tell how many steps ... read more