The Three Questions King Akbar was very fond of Birbal. This made a certain courtier very jealous. Now this courtier always wanted to be chief minister, but this was not possible as Birbal filled that position. One day Akbar praised Birbal in front of the courtier. This made the courtier very angry and he said that the king praised Birbal unjustly and if Birbal could answer three of his questions, he would accept the fact that Birbal was intelligent. Akbar always wanting to test Birbals wit readily agreed. The three questions were 1. How many stars are there in the sky ... read more

Lion and His Fear There was a lion who feared nothing except the crowing of cocks. A chill would go down his spine whenever he heard a cock crowing. One day he confessed his fear to the elephant, who was greatly amused. “How can the crowing of a cock hurt you?” he asked the lion. “Think about it!” Just then a mosquito began circling the elephant’s head, frightening him out of his wits. “If it gets into my ear I’m doomed!” he shrieked, flailing at the insect with his trunk. Now it was the lion’s turn to feel amused. Moral: If we could see our fears as others see them we would realize th ... read more

THE TALKING PARROT Once, a lady wanted to but a talking parrot for herself. So she went to a pet shop owner and told him about her requirement. The shop owner said, Yes madam, I have a talking parrot. Then he showed her a parrot. The owner further said, If you pull the string on the left leg, he'll say; Hi, how are you? And if you pull the string on the right leg, he'll say; I'm fine, thank you. At this the lady asked, What if I pull both the strings? Then I would fall from this perch, you stupid lady! answered the parrot.

The Wicked Barbers Plight As we all know, Birbal was not only Emperor Akbar’s favorite 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 to th ... read more

There was an old owl that lived in an oak. Everyday he saw incidents happening around him. Yesterday he saw a boy helping an old man to carry a heavy basket. Today he saw a girl shouting at her mother. The more he saw the less he spoke. As he spoke less, he heard more. He heard people talking and telling stories. He heard a woman saying that an elephant jumped over a fence. He also heard a man saying that he had never made a mistake. The old owl had seen and heard about what happened to people. Some became better and some became worse. But the old owl had become wiser each and every da ... read more