The Hungry Horse

The king of Vijayanagara wanted his army to have more horses, so he gave each of his courtiers a fine horse and a purse of money to feed it for a whole year. “Look after them well,” he said. “At the end of the year, I will inspect every horse.”

The courtiers fed their horses on the best grain and sweet grass. Tenali Raman did something different. He built a small stable with a tiny window, just big enough for the horse to put its head through, and he fed the horse just enough to keep it healthy, no more. The rest of the money he spent on feeding the poor families in his street, whose children had no grain at all that year.

The horse grew lean and very, very hungry. Whenever anything came near the little window, it lunged forward and grabbed at it with its teeth, hoping it was food.

At the end of the year the king inspected the horses. They were all sleek and fat, except Tenali’s, which was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is your horse, Tenali?”

“In its stable, Your Majesty. I’m afraid it has grown so fierce that nobody can lead it out. It would bite anyone who tried.”

The royal priest, Thathacharya, who disliked Tenali, smirked. “Fierce! I’m sure it’s simply starving. Let me look.”

He marched to the stable and pushed his face up to the little window to peer inside. Thathacharya had a long, grey, bushy beard. The hungry horse took one look at it, thought it was a delicious bundle of hay, and grabbed the beard in its teeth.

Thathacharya shrieked. He pulled and the horse pulled. He hopped and yelled and waved his arms while the horse munched happily at his whiskers. It took three servants to pull him free, and by then his magnificent beard was half its usual length.

The king laughed until he had to sit down on a bale of hay. When he had recovered, he asked, “Tenali, why is your horse so thin?”

Tenali explained, and told the king about the poor families in his street. “A horse can do with a little less grain, Your Majesty,” he said. “Children can’t.”

The king stopped laughing. He thought about it for a long moment. Then he ordered grain from the royal stores to be sent to every poor family in Tenali’s street, and an extra bag for the horse. Thathacharya’s beard took a whole year to grow back.