The Pot on Tenali’s Head

Even kings have bad days. One morning King Krishnadevaraya was in a terrible temper, and Tenali Raman made a joke at exactly the wrong moment. The king exploded.

“Enough, Tenali! I am sick of your jokes. I never want to see your face in my court again! If I do, you will be punished!”

Tenali bowed and left without a word. The courtiers who were jealous of him smiled at each other. At last, they thought, we are rid of him.

The next morning the court assembled as usual. The king took his seat. And then, through the great doors, came a strange figure. It was dressed in Tenali Raman’s clothes and walked with Tenali Raman’s walk. But where its head should have been, there was a large clay pot, with two small holes cut in the front so that it could see where it was going.

The figure bowed to the king, and the pot wobbled.

The courtiers were outraged. “Your Majesty! Tenali Raman has disobeyed your order! He has come back to court!”

The king tried hard to look stern. “Tenali, I told you I never wanted to see your face here again.”

“And you won’t, Your Majesty,” said a muffled voice from inside the pot. “I am very careful to obey your orders. You cannot see my face at all. All you can see is a pot.”

The king stared at the pot. The pot stared back through its two little eye-holes. There was a long silence.

Then the king’s shoulders began to shake. He tried to stop himself, but he couldn’t. He laughed until his crown slipped sideways, and the whole court, even the jealous courtiers, had to laugh with him.

“Take off that ridiculous pot, Tenali,” he said at last, wiping his eyes. “I take back my order. I would rather look at your face than at a cooking pot.”

Tenali lifted off the pot. “I am glad, Your Majesty. It was very hot in there.”

The king had been angry because he was tired and worried. Tenali had reminded him to laugh at himself, and he felt much better for it. From then on, whenever he felt his temper rising, the king would think of that pot wobbling across the floor, and find that he couldn’t stay angry for long.