One evening Emperor Akbar was
riding near a mango grove with courtiers. While they grooved and enjoyed,
suddenly an arrow whizzed past him. There was a sudden cry of anguish and
everyone stopped. Akbar and his courtier turned to look around to see who shot
the arrow, while the soldiers rushed in all the directions to see the shooter.
The soldiers rushed to the grove
and caught a young boy who had shot the arrow. Akbar angrily asked the boy, ‘Why
did you shoot the arrow aimlessly? It could have killed me or else injured by
right arm badly. You shall be punished for this’.
The young boy pleaded, ‘My
Majesty! I come and practice here everyday. I never intended to kill you. When
I shot the arrow to knock down a ripe mango, incidentally your horse happens to
pass there. Forgive me my Majesty, I am innocent’.
But the Emperor was too angry to
listen. He was filled with rage. He asked his man to put the boy to death as a
punishment for his unthoughtful action.
The soldier dragged the boy and tied
him to a tree stump. Just when they steadied the arrow to kill him, Birbal
shouted, ‘My Majesty, it is a hasty judgment. It is not fair on your part to
put someone innocent to death. If you want to revenge his attempted to kill
you, shoot him in the same way as he shot the arrow toward the ripe mango. Aim
towards the same mango as this boy did and if your arrow misses the mango, the
boy’s innocence shall be proved’.
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