Birbal Counts the Crows
Akbar & Birbal · Ages 6-10 · 3 min read
One lazy afternoon, the Emperor Akbar was strolling through his gardens with his clever minister Birbal, when a great flock of crows went flapping and cawing across the sky. The Emperor watched them go, and a mischievous question popped into his head.
“Birbal,” he said, “you always have an answer for everything. So tell me this. Exactly how many crows are there in my whole city?”
It was, of course, an impossible question. Nobody could ever count all the crows in a city. The courtiers around them smirked, certain that this time Birbal had been caught out.
But Birbal did not even pause. “That is easy, Your Majesty,” he said. “There are precisely ninety-five thousand, four hundred and sixty-three crows in your city. Not one more, not one fewer.”
The Emperor blinked. “Come now,” he said. “How could you possibly know such an exact number? What if I had my men count, and there turned out to be more than that?”
“Ah,” said Birbal, with a little bow. “If you should count and find more crows than I have said, then it is simply because some crows from neighbouring cities have come to visit their relatives here. And if you should count and find fewer, then it is because some of our crows have flown off to visit their relatives in other cities. Either way, Your Majesty, my number is perfectly correct.”
The Emperor threw back his head and laughed out loud. There was no arguing with that, and well he knew it. The smirking courtiers fell quiet, and Birbal, as usual, strolled on beside his emperor without the slightest trouble in the world.
An original retelling of a traditional Akbar and Birbal tale (public domain).
