The Load of Two Donkeys

One hot summer day the Emperor Akbar and his eldest son, the prince, went for a walk along the bank of the river Yamuna. Birbal walked with them.

The sun grew hotter and hotter. Soon the Emperor took off his heavy embroidered coat. “Here, Birbal, carry this for me.”

A little further on, the prince took off his coat too. “And mine, Birbal.”

So Birbal walked behind them with both royal coats draped over his shoulders, puffing a little in the heat.

The Emperor looked back at him and could not resist a joke. “Look at you, Birbal. You are carrying the load of a donkey.”

The prince laughed loudly. Birbal shifted the coats on his shoulders and smiled politely.

“Not quite, Your Majesty,” he said. “I am carrying the load of two donkeys.”

The prince stopped laughing. The Emperor opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then he looked at the coat over Birbal’s left shoulder, which was his own, and the one over his right shoulder, which was his son’s.

For a moment it looked as if he might be angry. But Akbar had a good sense of humour, and he knew he had started it. He burst out laughing.

“Very well, Birbal, you win. Give me back my coat.” He took it and put it over his own arm. “Come along, my son. Take yours too. If we are going to be donkeys, we might as well carry our own loads.”

And the three of them walked home along the river together, each carrying his own coat. From that day on, the Emperor was careful about the jokes he made at Birbal’s expense, because he knew Birbal would always find a way to give them back to him, politely, and with interest.