The Hens and The Rooster (Akbar and Birbal)
Once King Akbar thought of playing a trick on his favourite minister, Birbal. He confided in all other ministers and shared his plan with them. As per the plan, all the ministers had to carry an egg each the following day, hidden inside their robes. The next day, Akbar told his courtiers that he had a dream – according to it, if the ministers fetch an egg each from the royal pond, it will prove their loyalty towards him. After narrating his dream, Akbar asked all his ministers to do the same and show him their loyalty. As planned, all the ministers pretended to look for the eggs, and within no time all of them returned an egg each that was already hidden inside their robes. Birbal kept looking for the egg, but couldn’t find any. When Birbal reached empty-handed, everyone sneered at him, and they were smiling at each other. Birbal could gauge the entire scenario and went up to the king and made the loud rooster-sounds. The King was perplexed and asked Birbal why he did so, upon which Birbal replied, “My King, I am not a hen, and therefore, I could not fetch you any eggs; but I am a rooster, and this is what I can do best”. Listening to this, everyone burst into a hearty laugh.
Moral :
Self-confidence helps in dealing with difficult situations.
