The Washerman and The Potter Story
One day a washerman’s donkey got into the courtyard of a potter’s house. The potter had put out his pottery to dry in the sun. The donkey trampled on the pots and all of them broke. Just then the potter came out of the house. Seeing the washerman’s donkey in the courtyard and his broken pots, he grew very angry.
Picking up a stout stick, he started beating the donkey. As the donkey brayed loudly in pain, the washerman, who lived just next door, came to the rescue of his donkey.
“Hey! Why are you beating up my donkey ?” he shouted.
“He broke all my pots. I will not let him off without a punishment,” the potter said.
“I will pay for all the pots broken. Let’s settle this. Why fight for such a matter ?” the washerman said.
He paid the potter’s money and left with the donkey. But the potter was still angry. He wanted to teach a lesson to the washerman.
The next day he went to the royal court to meet King Akbar.
There he said, “Your Majesty, my friend returned from Iran last evening. He told me that the Shah of Iran is very impressed by the country and people where we live. But he said that Indian elephants are black and dirty. His army has white and clean elephants.”
“So what should we do about it?” the King inquired.
“Your Majesty, the Shah of Iran has a large group of washermen who wash the elephants twice a day.”
Hearing this, King Akbar realized the potter was up to some mischief but he did not show it. He asked, “Ask all the washermen in the city to get together and wash our elephants daily.”
“Your Majesty, there is no need to call all of them. The washerman who lives next door to me washes very cleanly. He is enough to scrub our elephants clean.”
Now King Akbar was sure about the potter’s plan so he said to his guards, “Go and fetch him.”
The washerman was called and asked to scrub the elephants clean. The washerman scrubbed some elephants the whole day but the elephants remained dark. In the evening, the tired washerman grew worried. He was afraid of the King’s anger because the elephants were still dark. He had also understood that the potter had planned all this to teach him a lesson. The washerman rushed to Birbal’s mansion to seek help. After meeting with Birbal, he went back home as a much-relaxed man.
The next morning when King Akbar scolded the washerman for not having cleaned the elephants, he said, “Your Majesty, if I could have a big pot to dip the elephant while scrubbing it, surely we’ll have whiter elephants than the Shah of Iran has.”
King Akbar knew that the washerman was getting back at the potter now.
So he said, “Ask the potter to make a big pot to fit the elephant in for bathing.”
The potter was ordered to make the pot. He took a week to make it. Then he took the pot to the palace. But, just as the elephant put its foot in it, the pot broke due to its weight.
The King grew angry, “You’ve made a weak pot. Go and make a stronger pot again. I want it here in the morning.”
The potter knew that he had been caught. He fell down at King Akbar’s feet and confessed that he wanted to teach the washerman a lesson. Then the King asked the washerman, “How did you get the idea to get even with the potter this way? I’ll reward you for this excellent idea you had.”
“Your Majesty, it’s Birbal Saheb and not me who deserves the reward. He told me the plan when I went to him for help.”
King Akbar called Birbal and commended him for helping the washerman.