A Trip to Paradise
“But how is that possible?” questioned the king.
Birbal, being a favourite of King Akbar, had a few enemies who envied him. Once, they made a plan to get rid of Birbal. The royal barber was also one of the conspirators.
One day, acting according to the plan, he said to the king, “Your Majesty, sometimes I feel that you don’t care about your dead ancestors.”
“That’s not correct,” replied Akbar, “I do think about them. But now that they are dead, I can hardly do anything for them.”
“You can do everything you want,” said the barber. “You can send someone to heaven who would bring some information about them.”
“But how is that possible?” questioned the king.
“It’s quite simple, Sir,” said the cunning barber, “You will be required to set up a funeral pyre in the open. Then someone will be gifted to the God of Fire who will take the person to the heaven.”
“That’s a great idea. But who will be the right person?” asked King Akbar.
“Sir, I think Birbal would be the most suitable for this purpose,” said the barber.
“Okay then, I’ll talk to Birbal about this matter,” said the King.
The clever barber felt extremely happy. He had his way. King Akbar called Birbal and spoke about this. He gladly accepted the proposal and said, “Your Majesty, I admire your concern for your forefathers. But I need a leave for a few days so that I can make some arrangement for my family.” Akbar agreed and permitted him leave.
Birbal constructed a long secret tunnel beginning from the place where pyre was to be set up to his house.
Finally, the fateful day arrived. Birbal lay down at the mouth of the tunnel and said, “I’m ready. Build the pyre.” The pyre was built and after sometime was lighted up. It began to burn. The royal barber and his friends were elated. Their conspiracy had successfully worked. However none of them knew that Birbal had reached his house through the secret tunnel.
After spending some months at his place, Birbal returned back to the court with a long beard and moustache. The king greeted him and asked him about his ancestors.
“Every one is fine, Your Majesty,” Birbal assured him, “There is nothing that they lack, except one thing…”
“What’s that thing?” asked the King.
“A good barber, Sir,” replied the wise Birbal, “Aren’t you seeing my condition? They want you to send your royal barber there.”
The royal barber overheard their conversation. He realized that he was caught in the trap that he himself had woven. He discussed this matter with his fellow conspirators, but no one offered him any help. As a result, he soon left the kingdom and never showed his face again.
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