Tenali Rama And The Reward
Once upon a time, in the grand court of King Krishnadevaraya, a rich merchant came to seek justice.
He bowed and said, “Your Majesty, I was on my way back from a business trip when I stopped by a rest house. I kept my gold coins safely in a cloth bundle and went to take a bath. When I returned, the bundle was gone!”
The king asked, “Do you suspect anyone?”
The merchant nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. There was only one man in the rest house at that time — a poor traveler. I am sure he took it.”
The poor traveler was brought to the court. He looked nervous but calm. “I did not take the money,” he said firmly. “I was resting in a corner and never touched anything.”
The king frowned. “There is no proof. What shall we do?”
Just then, Tenali Rama stepped forward and smiled. “Your Majesty, may I handle this case?”
The king agreed.
Tenali Rama thought for a moment and said, “Let us announce that the king is very happy today and will reward anyone who returns lost items with a bag of gold coins.”
The king was amused, but he trusted Rama’s wisdom and made the announcement across the kingdom.
The very next day, a man came to the court holding a cloth bundle.
“I found this lying near the rest house,” he said. “And when I heard about the reward, I thought it must belong to someone important.”
Tenali Rama opened the bundle — it was full of gold coins. The rich merchant jumped up. “That’s mine! That’s my money!”
Rama turned to the man and asked, “Did you know this belonged to the merchant?”
The man hesitated. “No, sir. I just… found it.”
Rama’s eyes twinkled. “You just found it, huh? Then why did you wait until the reward was announced to return it?”
The man had no answer.
Tenali Rama looked at the king. “Your Majesty, this is the thief. He heard about the reward and returned the money to get more. Justice is served.”
The king was delighted. The thief was punished, the merchant got his money back, and Tenali Rama once again proved that wit is mightier than wealth.
Moral – Clever thinking and patience can solve even the trickiest problems.
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