Tenali Rama And The Magical Mango
Once upon a time, in the grand palace of King Krishnadevaraya, the queen suddenly fell ill. No matter what the royal doctors tried, her health did not improve. The king grew worried and called upon all the priests and healers in the kingdom to find a cure.
One day, a mysterious priest arrived at the palace claiming he had a magical mango that could heal any illness. The priest said “This mango is blessed by the gods. If the queen eats it with complete faith, she will be healthy again in no time.”
The king, desperate to save his queen, was willing to try anything. So, he asked the priest to bring the mango right away.
Tenali Rama, the clever court jester and advisor, listened carefully. He was curious but also a bit suspicious.
Before the queen ate the mango, Rama went up to the priest and said softly, “Sir, before you give this magical fruit to the queen, why don’t you take a bite first? Show us how powerful it really is!”
The priest smiled slyly but agreed, wanting to prove his magic.
He took the mango, peeled it carefully, and took a big bite. Then he said “Ah, I feel the power flowing through me!”
At that moment, Tenali Rama called the palace guards. “Bring the bowl of chili paste” he ordered.
The guards quickly brought a bowl filled with bright red, spicy chili paste.
Rama turned to the priest and said, “Now that you are healthy, you must also prove your strength by eating this spicy chili!”
The priest’s face turned pale. He tried to hide his fear but knew he could not refuse.
With trembling hands, he ate a little chili paste—and immediately began coughing and gasping for water.
Realizing he had been caught, the priest confessed, “I am not a magician. This mango is just an ordinary fruit. I only wanted to trick the king.”
King Krishnadevaraya was angry but also impressed by Rama’s wisdom in revealing the truth before any harm could come to the queen.
He thanked Tenali Rama and ordered the priest to leave the palace.
From that day, the queen’s health improved slowly with proper care and real medicine.
And the king learned an important lesson: Never believe in magic without proof.
Moral: Always question claims that sound too good to be true.
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