Tenali Rama And The Thieves

It was a quiet evening in the village where Tenali Rama lived. The moon was high in the sky, casting silver shadows across the rooftops. Two thieves had been lurking nearby, watching Rama’s house carefully. Rumor had it that Rama had recently received a bag full of gold coins from the king as a reward.

Hidden behind a large neem tree, one thief whispered, “He must have stored that gold somewhere in his house. Tonight, we’ll sneak in and take it!”

But Tenali Rama, being the wise man he was, had already sensed that he was being watched. He knew someone was planning to rob him. So, that evening, as he stood near the well in his backyard, he spoke loudly enough for any eavesdropper to hear.

“Wife,” he said, “We must protect this gold from thieves. Let’s hide it in this pot and drop it in the well. No one will ever think to look there!”

From their hiding spot, the thieves grinned with excitement. “Perfect!” they thought. “Once he’s asleep, we’ll take the gold from the well!”

After nightfall, once all the lights were out, the thieves crept toward the well. They quietly tied a rope and started pulling out the pots one by one. But to their dismay, each pot was filled with stones!

They worked tirelessly through the night, believing the gold must be in one of the pots. But every time, it was just more stones.

At sunrise, Tenali Rama stepped out of his house and clapped his hands. “Thank you, kind thieves, for cleaning out my well. Now I can draw clean water again!”

The thieves were shocked. They realized they had been tricked and ran away in shame, while the villagers laughed at Rama’s cleverness.

Moral: Clever thinking can defeat even the smartest of thieves.