Did the Emperor need to covet anything further? Not really. An undisputed ruler of the land, held in awe by his subjects, a vanquished opposition, full coffers and reckoned with the world over!
But then, innate greed is insatiable? Does want know any bounds? You never know when does the weak mind, manifest itself.
It was an insignificant incident, really. The perfume! The Emperor’s favourite perfume. It was one of those tiny bottles of very expensive perfume. As he opened the bottle to dab some of it on his robe, a tiny drop escaped the bottle and fell to the floor. He could have let it be, but for some inexplicable reason, His Majesty bent down, wiped it off the floor with his finger, and dabbed it on the lapel of his jacket.
Who else should walk in at such a moment but the hawk-eyed Birbal. The Emperor immediately found himself wishing Birbal hadn’t seen what he had just done, but the twinkle in Birbal’s eyes and the enigmatic smile on his face said otherwise.
The Emperor wasn’t one to be embarrassed easily; but that smile seemed to have gone through some chink in his usually impregnable armour. He felt he needed to do something.
The following week, a grand festival was organized. The perfume festival, a party like none other. Everyone who was anyone was invited — ministers, businesspeople, foreign dignitaries, celebrities, even news magnates.
It was a celebration of perfumes! Of every hue and colour, from every imaginable country, of every smell and flavour, in beautiful carafes of crystal and glass. Perfumes were sprinkled on everyone, even mixed in the garden fountains, the aroma were intoxicating!
And then the Emperor took the stage for the grand finale. One nod from him, the large fountain in the middle of the garden was filled with the most expensive perfume; and as everyone watched in wide-eyed amazement, the whole fountain was emptied to let the perfume; such an expensive perfume, into the carefully made furrows around the flower beds.
At first there was a stunned silence, but soon everybody broke into a thunderous applause. It is said that there was even a shower of rose petals. Everyone appeared to be capable of only talking about the large-heartedness of the Emperor.
The Emperor turned to Birbal with a look of pride on his face. ‘Howdy Birbal ?’ he asked
With great humility Birbal replied, ‘My Lord, what the drop taketh away, the fountain maketh up not!’
NB: Please be assured, that this story has nothing whatsoever to do, with the collection of the train fare from the migrant labourers returning home. Any resemblance to actual events is purely co-incidental.
Image Courtesy: Pixabay