By nature, emperor Akbar was a kind-hearted man. But there were
certain blemishes in him that were wholly human, and they would rather enhance
his personality than diminish his stature. One such was his whimsicality.
Birbal was always there by his side to set the wrong in him right.
On one evening, when Akbar and Birbal were on their daily walks in
the palace gardens, they noticed the lurching of a host of crows on the garden
trees. Suddenly Akbar got a thought:
"How many crows are there in my kingdom?"
This thought burrowed into his mind so deeply that he needed an
answer from Birbal. As we all know, administrators evince greater interest in
the compilation of data for their future plans and execution.
Birbal had wit enough to realize what to do in such emergency.
He readily answered:
"There are ninety five thousand four hundred and sixty-three
crows in the kingdom".
Amazed at his quick response, Akbar tried his best to outwit him:
"What if there be more crows than you answered?"
Without hesitation, Birbal replied:
"Then some crows must have visited from neighbouring
kingdoms"
"And what if there be less crows?" Demanded Akbar.
And then came
Birbal's instant answer! "Then some crows from our kingdom must have gone
on vacation to other parts"
Emperor Akbar, thereby, realized that Birbal's wit was a
hard nut to crack. Nevertheless, he realized his administrative folly on
statistical data.
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