Yesha Desai

One day, Akbar was riding near a mango orchard, when an arrow whizzed past him. The guards accompanying him rushed to find the culprit and caught the archer who had shot the arrow. He was just a young boy and was quivering with fear after being caught.When Akbar saw the boy, he asked him angrily, “Why did you try to kill me? Tell me which of my enemies has sent you here?”The young boy folded his hands and replied, “His Highness, I was not trying to kill you. I was just trying to knock down a mango with my arrow.”The Emperor was infuriated at the young boy’s careless way of shooting arrows and ordered his guards, “Put him to death in the same manner he tried to kill me.”The guards tied the youth to a mango tree and were getting ready to shoot him. Birbal could not stop himself from chipping in and addressed the soldiers, “Wait a second! If you want to shoot this boy in the same way he tried to shoot the Emperor, then you must aim at the mango; the arrow must miss the mango and then strike the boy.”Akbar realised his folly and understood that it was not fair to take away the youth’s life for something that he did not do deliberately. He ordered his guards to let the young man go scot free. The young man fell down on Birbal’s feet and thanked him from the bottom of his heart. Moral:Hasty judgement can have mighty consequences.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.

Hasty judgement

One day, somebody gifted a beautiful talking parrot to Emperor Akbar. Akbar was very fond of the parrot as it could not only talk, but also reply to his questions. He had made special arrangements for the parrot’s care and safety and made an announcement that if someone ever dared to inform him about the parrot’s death, he will be hung. All the caretakers of the parrot thus, took extreme care of the parrot and guarded him against all harm, day and night.Still, one day, the parrot died. None of the caretakers had the courage to go and tell this to the Emperor. They went to Birbal and told him their plight. They said, “If we inform the Emperor about the parrot’s death, then he will get us hanged, and if we do not tell him, then also he will kill us, so please help us.”Birbal thought for a while and sent all of them back to work. Next day, he himself went to the Emperor and said, “Alampanah, your parrot…” Akbar said, “Yes Birbal. What about my parrot?” Birbal again stammered, “Your parrot is …” Akbar was anxious to know about his parrot. He again asked, “Tell me Birbal, What happened to my parrot?” Birbal again said, “Your parrot…” Akbar said in a firm tone, “Birbal, I am asking you, what happened to my parrot? Say something in the name of Allah!”Then Birbal said – “Jahanpanah, your parrot is neither eating anything, nor drinking anything. He is neither saying anything, nor moving his wings. He is neither opening up his eyes, nor…”The Emperor cut him short and said worriedly, “What? Has the parrot died?”Birbal said, “I did not say it. You said it.”The Emperor understood why Birbal had to break the news of his parrot’s death like that. He did not punish any of the servants and appreciated Birbal for his intelligent move. Moral:A twist of words can get you out of messy situations.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.This is a story of Parrot.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

The parrot neither eats not drinks

Ravina Sewani

One night, Emperor Akbar dreamed that he had lost all his teeth, except one. He was greatly disturbed with the strange dream. The next morning he summoned all the astrologers of his kingdom and asked them to interpret his dream.All the astrologers held a meeting and after a long discussion, the astrologers prophesied that his dream was an indication that all his relatives would die before him.Akbar was greatly distressed by this interpretation and so he sent away all the astrologers without any reward.Later that day, the Emperor happened to meet Birbal. He narrated his dream to Birbal and asked him to interpret it. He also told him what the astrologers had told him.Birbal thought for a while and said, “It means, Alampanah, you will live a longer &amp; more fulfilled life than any of your relatives.”Akbar cheered up when he heard Birbal’s version and rewarded him handsomely.Birbal had also conveyed the same thing as the astrologers to the Emperor, but in an intelligent manner. Moral:Optimism is a choice. If we choose to be optimistic in any situation, chances are the bad phase would pass quickly and smoothly.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of Akbar Birbal and tooth.Moral(s) of the story: optimism

Akbar’s Dream

Akbar’s court was famous for the witty question answer sessions between the Emperor himself, and his clever minister Birbal.On one such occasion – Akbar asked his courtiers whether they could tell the difference between truth and untruth within three words. All the courtiers started racking their brains to search for the three most appropriate words in which they could tell the difference between the truth and the untruth. But, enough time passed and none of them could come up with an answer.Birbal was also present in the court, but kept mum. The Emperor asked him, “What about you, Birbal? Why are you so silent?”“Your Majesty!” Birbal politely replied, “I was giving a chance to others first. In my opinion, the right answer would be: Four fingers.”The Emperor asked Birbal, “How is that, Birbal? Explain it to all!”“Yes, Your Majesty, four fingers is the difference between truth and untruth. What your eyes see is truth, and what your ears hear, may be false.”“I agree with that, but why did you say that the difference between truth and untruth is four fingers?” Akbar said.Birbal bowed and said, “Four fingers is the distance between one’s eyes and one’s ears, Your Majesty!” Akbar was very astonished to hear Birbal’s well thought reply. Moral:Never believe on what you hear from several mouths. Often times, the things we hear turn out to be mere rumours. It is better to trust our eyes than anyone else’s words.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is story of Akbar Birbal.Moral(s) of the story: honesty and lying

Truth and Untruth

One day, a rich man wanted to get an innocent man named Hasan, punished for some grudge that he held against him. He accused him of stealing his wife’s valuable necklace, and reported this theft in the Emperor’s court.Emperor Akbar asked the man, “Why do you think that Hasan has stolen the necklace from your place?” The rich man replied, “Your Majesty, I have myself seen him stealing the necklace!” Hasan said, “No Huzoor, I am innocent! I do not know anything about the necklace.”The rich man said, “Huzoor, if he is innocent, ask him to prove his innocence by holding a hot iron rod in his bare hands. If he is able to do so, then I will believe that he has not stolen my necklace, and he is speaking the truth.”The rich man also convinced the Emperor that if Hasan was telling the truth then the holy deities above would not let any harm come to him and it was the most ideal way to test the innocence of the accused person. The Emperor ordered Hasan to appear in his court the next day and do as directed by the rich man.Poor Hasan was at his wit’s end. He went to Raja Birbal for help. Birbal could understand that the man was telling the truth and suggested a clever idea to him.When he returned the next day, he said, “I am ready for the test. But the same thing should be applied to the rich man as well. If he is speaking the truth, then the red hot iron should not burn his hands also. So, first let him hold the hot iron rod in his hands, and then I will hold that iron in my bare hands.”Now, the rich man was speechless! He requested the Emperor Akbar to let him go and look for the necklace again in his house; maybe his wife had misplaced it somewhere in the house itself.Emperor Akbar ordered the rich man to give the necklace to Hasan as a punishment and praised Raja Birbal for his clever idea. Moral:Framing someone for a crime and lying does not end well.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.Moral(s) of the story: honesty and lying

Red Hot Test

Emperor Akbar was very much fond of Birbal and favoured him. This made the other courtiers at Akbar’s court jealous of Birbal. They, and many other people in the kingdom, continuously plotted for Birbal’s downfall, but were never able to succeed in their plans.The Emperor’s barber was also very jealous of Birbal. One day, he hatched a vicious plan against Birbal. He went to trim the Emperor’s beard and said, “Sir, last night I dreamt about your father.” The Emperor got interested, so he asked, “Really? What did he say to you?”The shrewd barber replied, “Sir, he said that he was extremely happy in paradise, but sometimes he feels a great absence of a quick witted man who can amuse him.” He further added, “Jahanpanah, you must do something about it. You must send someone with a good sense of humour for his recreation. I am sure your father will be very happy with you then and shower you with his choicest blessings.”On seeing the Emperor caught in a dilemma as to whom to send, he suggested Birbal’s name. Akbar also wholeheartedly agreed with the barber.Next day, the Emperor summoned Birbal and said, “Birbal, I firmly believe that you are extremely loyal to me and can sacrifice anything for me. Am I right? ”Birbal instantly replied, “Yes Jahanpanah! That is absolutely right.”“Then Birbal, please go to heaven to give company to my dear father,” said the Emperor.Birbal did not take time to understand that this was another diabolical plan of somebody to get him killed.He politely said, “I will do so, but I need a few days to prepare myself to go to heaven.”The Emperor said, “Yes, sure! I grant you one week to prepare yourself to go to heaven.”Birbal went back to his home and started to think of a suitable plan to save his life and then, a nice idea struck him. He dug a ditch near his house which would serve as his grave, and through that ditch, dug a tunnel that opened in one of the rooms of his house.Once everything was done, he reported back to the court and said, ” I am ready, His Majesty, but there are two conditions.”The Emperor said, “Yes Birbal, it would be my pleasure to fulfill your last wishes. Tell me, what are your conditions?Birbal said, “His majesty, I wish to be buried near my house. And I want to be buried alive so that I can reach heaven alive to amuse your dear father.”Akbar readily agreed upon Birbal’s conditions. All the jealous courtiers and the barber were elated to know that soon they will get rid of Birbal.So, a date was chosen and Birbal was buried alive near his house. After the burial, Birbal made his way to his house and lived there in confinement for six months. Meanwhile, he also came to know that the Emperor’s barber had masterminded the plan of getting him killed. After six months, he came out of hiding with a grown beard and shabby hair and presented himself before the Emperor.Akbar was overjoyed to see Birbal once again. He asked him excitedly, “Birbal, you are back! How is my father? Did he send you back or is there something else?”Birbal said, “Your Majesty, all is well in heaven. I was there with your dear father. He was so happy with my services that he gave me special permission to return to earth to entertain his favourite son.”Akbar was very happy to hear this and wanted to know more about his father. He asked Birbal, “Did he send any message for me?”Birbal said, “Yes, Your Majesty, there is not even a single barber in heaven. You can easily make this out by looking at my grown beard and shabby hair. So, he has asked to send your own barber to him immediately.”Akbar understood everything. He handsomely rewarded Birbal and sentenced his barber to life imprisonment. Moral:Trying to trick someone more intelligent than you can bring your downfall.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.This is a story of foolishness and wisdom.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness and wisdom

Birbal goes to heaven

Raja Birbal was famous for his wit and sense of humour across the seven seas. Once, a highly distinguished scholar came to Akbar’s court and challenged Birbal to answer his question. He wanted to test Birbal’s wits, and find out whether he was as clever as people said he was. Birbal accepted the challenge.Then the scholar asked Birbal, “Tell me Birbal, would you like to answer one hundred easy questions or a single difficult question?” Akbar and Birbal had a very long day; they were in a hurry to wind up the court, so Birbal said, “O learned one! Ask me one difficult question.”The scholar instantly shot his question at Birbal, “Who came first? Chicken or egg?”Birbal answered the question without giving any second thought, “The chicken!”The scholar was puzzled to hear such a swift reply. He further asked Birbal, “How do you know?”“We agreed that you would ask only one question, and you have already asked it. So, no more questions please!” Birbal retorted.Birbal’s witty reply left the scholar speechless. Moral:Even if the question is silly, you can manage the situation by thinking on your feet and giving a witty answer.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.Moral(s) of the story: wisdom

Just one question

One day, Akbar stumbled on a rock in his garden while taking a stroll. He was already in a foul mood that day and this accident made him so angry that he ordered for the gardener’s arrest and execution.The next day, at the time of execution, the gardener was asked what his last wish was before he was hanged, he requested an audience with the emperor.&nbsp;His wish was granted and he was brought to the royal court.He greeted the Emperor and then walked towards his throne, saying that he wanted to just have one last close look at the Emperor. When he came near the Emperor, he loudly cleared his throat and spat at the feet of the Emperor.The Emperor’s anger knew no bounds and he demanded to know why the lowly gardener did such an outrageous thing. The gardener had done this on Birbal’s advice. He stepped forward in the gardener’s defense and politely said, “I do not know of a person that is as loyal to you as this unfortunate gardener. Fearing that tomorrow people may criticize you for taking his life for a small reason, he went out of his way to give you a genuine reason for ordering him to be hanged. He has done his final duty for you. Now he can leave for his heavenly abode peacefully.”The Emperor realized his mistake and set the gardener free. Moral:Loyalty always bears rewards.

This is a classic story from Akbar Birbal.Moral(s) of the story: loyalty

The loyal gardener

Once, a man sold his well to a farmer in return for some money. Next day, when the farmer went to draw the water from that well, the man forbade him to draw the water from it. He said, “I have sold you just the well, not the water, which is why you cannot draw the water from the well.”The farmer felt cheated and appealed for justice in the Emperor’s court. He narrated the entire incident to the Emperor and demanded the man to be taken to task for being dishonest with him.The Emperor called Birbal and handed over this case to him. Birbal summoned the other man also in the court.When the man presented himself before the court, Birbal asked him, “Why don’t you let him use the water of the well? You have sold the well to the farmer.” The cunning man replied, “Respected Sir, I have sold the just the well to the farmer, not the water. And thus, he has no right to draw the water from the well.”Birbal smiled and said, “Very well! But, since you have sold the well to this farmer, you have no right to keep your water in the farmer’s well. You must either pay rent to the farmer to keep your water in his well, or you take your water out of his well immediately. You must keep the thing that belongs to you with yourself. Am I right?”The cunning man realized that it was not possible for him to cheat the farmer anymore. He apologized to him for his trickery and withdrew his claim over the water of the well. Moral:Trickery and cunningness will always someday be discovered and outwitted.

akbar birbal stories

Kids moral stories help in improving their imagination & relate to real-world life. Here are age-specific bedtime stories for children by renowned storytellers.