During the reign of Akbar there lived a
man. The man held large patches of land. One of the farm areas he held had a
well.
One day the man was in need of money, so
he sold the well to a farmer.
Next day the farmer went to draw the water
from the well. However, much to his surprise, the man did not allow the farmer to
draw the water from it. The man said, ‘I have sold you the well not the water.
So you cannot draw the water from the well’.
The farmer became very poignant. He
decided to approach the Emperor for justice. The farmer explained his plea to
the Emperor and asked for the justice. Akbar called Birbal and asked him to
look into the matter.
Birbal called the man who sold his well to
the farmer and asked him, ‘you sold the well to this farmer. Now why won’t you
let him draw water from it?’
The man humbly explained, ‘O wise Birbal I
have sold the well, not its water. Hence, he has no right to draw the water
from the well’.
The Birbal smiled wittingly and said, ‘The
well belong to the farmer. If the water in the well is your, either you take
the entire water out of the water or pay the farmer rent for keeping your water
in the his well. In any case you are liable for the water in well, as you
believe that the water belongs to you and it is in the farmer’s well’.
The man startled hearing Birbal’s verdict.
He realized that Birbal outwitted him and accepted that the water in the well
belongs to farmer. The farmer was pleased with Birbal’s justice.
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