The Palace in the Air
The king dreams of a palace floating in the sky, and offers a reward to anyone who can build it. Tenali Raman says he has found the builders. By Pagehush Retellings (2026). A traditional tale from the court of King Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara, retold in our own words.
🎧 New: every story can be read aloud. Tap Listen to try it.
One night King Krishnadevaraya had a wonderful dream. He dreamed of a palace floating high up in the sky, among the clouds, with gardens and fountains and golden towers.
When he woke up, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He told the court, “I want that palace. I will give a hundred thousand gold coins to anyone who can build me a palace in the air.”
The courtiers looked at one another. A palace in the air? It was impossible. But nobody wanted to tell the king that his dream was foolish. A few of them even went away to “think about it”, and stayed away from court for weeks so they wouldn’t have to answer.
The king grew impatient. “Is there nobody in my kingdom who can do it?”
“I can, Your Majesty,” said Tenali Raman. “Give me two months, and some money to train the workers.”
Two months later Tenali came back to court. Behind him came a line of servants carrying cages, and in the cages were dozens of bright green parrots.
“Your Majesty, here are the builders for your palace in the air.”
He opened the cages, and the parrots flew up into the high beams of the hall. Then, all together, they began to screech.
“Bring the bricks! Bring the bricks!”
“Mix the mortar! Mix the mortar!”
“Hurry up! Hurry up!”
The court burst out laughing. The king laughed too, but he also looked a little confused.
“Tenali, what is this?”
“These are the only builders who can work in the sky, Your Majesty,” said Tenali. “They fly very well, and as you can hear, they already know all the right words. They are ready to start. All we need now is for someone to carry the bricks and the mortar up into the air for them.”
The king stopped laughing. He looked up at the parrots, who were still shouting “Bring the bricks!” at the ceiling. Then he understood what Tenali was telling him.
“A palace in the air,” he said slowly, “is only a dream.”
“Dreams are wonderful, Your Majesty,” said Tenali gently. “But some dreams are for enjoying, not for building.”
The king smiled. He let the parrots stay in the royal gardens, where they shouted “Hurry up!” at the gardeners for years afterwards. And instead of a palace in the sky, he used the money to build a new well and a rest house for travellers on the road to Vijayanagara.
