There was an old city by the name of Vardhaman. It was the
center of trading and traders from far and wide came here to make money.
In the city there lived a merchant named Dantila. He was
wealthy and prosperous. Dantila held a grand reception for his wedding. It was
attended by the Majesty King, his Queen, the courts men and other rich and
influential people.
Gorambha who was a sweeper in the royal household also came
to the reception. Dantila saw him occupying a seat reserved for the courts men
and got angry. He immediately called his servants and ordered them to throw him
out.
The merchant's servants thrashed and insulted Gorambha. They
threw him out.
Gorambha was deeply hurt and thought to himself, "I am
poor and was born low, so Dantila has insulted me. He is rich and proud of his
wealth and favors he receives from the King. I would now do something to stop
the King extending favors to him".
So one early morning Gorambha entered the King's chamber when
he was still asleep. He started murmuring, "Dantila is very proud and high
headed. He can even dare to embrace the Queen".
The King heard Gorambh. He was angry and wanted to know if
Dantila embraced the Queen.
Gorambh said, "Your Majesty, I drank and gambled whole
night. I do not remember what I said. Pardon me!”
The King was anxious and doubtful. He thought that the
sweeper might have seen Dantila embracing the queen, since he had the privilege
to enter royal court.
The King recalled that wise men say that men are likely to
say in their sleep what they see. He thought carefully and was convinced that
Dantila had indeed embraced the Queen secretly.
The King barred Dantila from entering his royal court. The
merchant now began grieving as he had not done any harm to the King or to his
courts men, nor his relatives.
The King ordered his men to bar Dantila from entering court.
So one day when Dantila tried to enter the royal court he was barred by the
king's men. When Gorambha saw this, he told them, "You are all fools. If
you stop the great merchant Dantila you will meet with the same ill fate as I
did at the hands of Dantila".
The merchant heard this and thought he should bring Gorambha
in his confidence. So he invited him for tea.
Dantila treated Gorambha very well. He gave him expensive
clothes when he saw him leaving after the tea. He told him,” Friend, you were
my guest in the reception. I never intended to insult you. You occupied the
seat I had reserved for royal courts men. Kindly pardon me for what
happened".
Gorambha was pleased to receive the warm treatment from
Dantila and hear his words of apology. He promised to win the King's favor for
Dantila again.
The next day Gorambha pretended to talk in sleep again. He
said he saw the King ride the swings in garden and eat cucumber in the
restroom.
The King was puzzled to hear this. He said, "You are
talking nonsense! When did you see me munching cucumber in restroom and riding
the swings?"
The sweeper smiled and said, "Your Majesty! I do not
know what I said. I drank and gambled at last night. Pardon me!"
The king realized that Gorambha was unreliable. He changed
his mind about Dantila and asked him to appear before him. He gave Dantila the
same powers and authority which he had earlier.
Moral: Treat everyone equally and respectfully.
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