One story is that Akbar once asked Birbal how many crows were in the kingdom. Birbal quickly replied, 'There are ninety - five thousand four hundred and sixty - three crows in the kingdom.' Akbar was surprised and said, 'How can you be so sure?' Birbal said, 'If you find more, they are visitors from other kingdoms. If you find less, some have gone to visit other kingdoms.'
Here's another. Akbar wanted to test Birbal's wisdom. He put a long stick in a well and asked Birbal to find out its length without taking it out. Birbal tied a small stick to a rope, lowered it into the well until it reached the bottom of the long stick, and then measured the rope. He was able to tell the length of the long stick in the well.
Once Akbar and Birbal were walking in the garden. Akbar said, 'Birbal, can you show me a miracle?' Birbal then pointed at a mango tree and said, 'Your Majesty, that tree will bow to you.' As Akbar walked closer, Birbal climbed the tree and bent a branch down. Akbar was amused by Birbal's quick - wittedness.
One story is that Akbar once asked Birbal how many crows were in the kingdom. Birbal quickly replied, 'There are ninety - five thousand four hundred and sixty - three crows in the kingdom.' When Akbar was surprised and asked how he could be so sure, Birbal said, 'If there are more, then some crows must be visiting from other kingdoms. If there are less, then some of our crows must be visiting other places.'
In one instance, Akbar wanted to test Birbal's wisdom. He asked Birbal to build a palace using only two things - ice and sand. Birbal accepted the challenge. He made a beautiful ice - sand palace by using ice blocks as the main structure and sand to fill the gaps. However, as the sun rose, the ice started to melt. Akbar was about to scold Birbal when Birbal said, 'Your Majesty, this shows that things made with temporary materials are not long - lasting, just like false friendships.' Akbar was impressed with the moral lesson hidden in Birbal's act.
In another story, Akbar wanted to test Birbal's wisdom. He showed Birbal a picture of a family where a man, his wife, and their children were sitting together. Akbar asked Birbal to tell who was the most intelligent in the family just by looking at the picture. Birbal replied that it was the mother because she was the one who could manage and take care of everyone in the family, which required great intelligence.
One really interesting story is when Akbar and Birbal were walking in the garden. Akbar asked Birbal, 'Can you show me a miracle?' Birbal picked up a small pebble and threw it into the pond. He said, 'Look, the pebble made the water rise without any effort.' Akbar laughed at this simple yet clever answer.
A funny story is when Akbar asked Birbal to find a man who was both the smartest and the dumbest in the kingdom. Birbal went and brought a man. Akbar was puzzled. Birbal said, 'This man is the smartest when he keeps his mouth shut, for then no one can tell if he is stupid. And he is the dumbest when he starts to talk, as he often says foolish things.'
In another story, Akbar once drew a line on the floor and asked Birbal to make it shorter without erasing it. Birbal simply drew a longer line beside it. By comparison, the first line looked shorter. This showed Birbal's cleverness in solving problems in unique ways.
There's a story where Akbar was very tired but couldn't sleep well. He called Birbal. Birbal told him a story about a magical land where people's sleep was guarded by fairies. He said that the king in that land always had peaceful sleep because he trusted his people. Akbar understood the message and felt more relaxed, eventually falling asleep. It reflects Birbal's ability to use stories to convey useful ideas.
One famous Akbar Birbal story is about the 'wise judgment'. A merchant's gold chain was stolen. Akbar asked Birbal to find the thief. Birbal called all the servants and gave them each a stick of the same length and said the thief's stick would grow overnight. The guilty servant cut his stick short out of fear. Next day, it was easy to identify the thief.