The Lime-eating Servant Story
Once King Akbar saw that the palace wall had its plaster coming off. He called his servant and ordered, “Jumman, I want this wall to be mended. Get some lime (chuna) and paint it soon. Get to work right now.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty,” Jumman bowed.
The next day King Akbar saw that the wall was not mended.
He called Jumman and said, “You fool, you have not mended the wall yet. Go immediately and get a pound of lime right now.”
As Jumman ran out in a hurry, he collided with Birbal. On enquiring, Jumman told him what had happened.
“Was the King very angry?” Birbal asked.
“Yes, sir, he was,” Jumman replied.
“Now get two bowls. In one, place some lime and in the other, put what I give you. In his anger, the King will surely ask you to eat lime, when he says so, simply eat from the bowl in which I will give you something.” Jumman agreed.
As predicted, the angry King Akbar asked Jumman to eat the lime as a punishment. But Jumman ate from the bowl in which Birbal had placed something else. The King was surprised when Jumman ate up the lime as he had ordered.
Then the King said, “Now that’s enough. You can go now.”
As Jumman left, the King thought, “Poor man, Jumman is going to be ill for weeks after my punishment.”
But the next day King Akbar was surprised to see Jumman in good health.
He thought to himself, “It means Jumman has good digestion. I’ll test him again.”
He again ordered Jumman to get some lime. Jumman ran to Birbal for help. Birbal advised him to do the same as the day before. Once again King Akbar asked Jumman to eat the lime but this time from both the bowls.
Jumman was prepared already and soon followed the King’s order. The next day King Akbar saw Jumman well and good and busy working. The King called Jumman and asked, “Yesterday why were you late when you went to get the bowls of lime?”
“Your Majesty, I had met Birbal Saheb on the way. He asked me to do a small task. I had been late for this reason.”
Then King Akbar asked Jumman to get the lime bowls. As he inspected, he found that it had traces of white butter in it. Birbal had asked Jumman to put white butter in the lime bowls so that he could eat it easily when the angry King ordered him to.
King Akbar marveled at the great ideas Birbal always had to save the skin of others.