The Obedient Husband Story 

One afternoon King Akbar and Birbal were roaming in the streets of Agra in disguise. Just then they saw a woman shouting loudly. She was addressing a man.

She was saying, “You are not fit to be a husband. Get out right now. Don’t you dare step into the house without completing the task I gave you?”

Seeing this, King Akbar asked Birbal, “Why is that young man not responding? He is strong and he can shout back at his wife, too. Why doesn’t he do anything?”

“Your Majesty, all husbands are like this. They obey their wives. This is the bitter truth about marriage.”

The next day King Akbar ordered all married men to come at the front of the palace.

When the men had gathered, he said, “I want all husbands who obey their wives to step to my right and those who don’t, must step to my left.”

At this order, all the men stepped to the right of the King. Only one of them stepped to the left. King Akbar felt very happy thinking that at least one of the married men was his own boss. He asked Birbal to reward him. But Birbal wanted to ask the man a question.

He asked the man, “When all the men stepped to the right, you went the other way. Why did you do that ?”

“Sir, actually my wife has asked me to keep away from crowds so I decided to step away from these men.”

Hearing this all the courtiers, the gathered husbands and King Akbar burst into laughter. The King turned to Birbal and said, “You were right once again, Birbal. You have proved what you had said. All husbands obey their wives.”