Akbar once challenged Birbal to find the most precious thing in the world within a day. Birbal went around the kingdom but came back empty - handed. Akbar was about to scold him when Birbal said, 'The most precious thing in the world is friendship. And I have the best friend in you, my king.' Akbar was very pleased with this answer.
One day, Akbar asked Birbal, 'How many crows are there in my kingdom?' Birbal quickly replied, 'There are 99,463 crows in the kingdom.' Akbar was surprised and said, 'How can you 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.'
There was a time when Akbar wanted to test Birbal's intelligence. He put a small stick in a well and asked Birbal to find out the length of the stick without taking it out. Birbal thought for a while and then asked for some bricks. He dropped the bricks one by one into the well until the water level rose to the top of the stick. Then he measured the height of the bricks used and that was the length of the stick.
One day, Akbar asked Birbal, 'How many crows are there in my kingdom?' Birbal quickly replied, 'There are 99,465 crows, Your Majesty.' Akbar was puzzled and asked how he knew. Birbal said, 'If there are more, some must be visiting from other kingdoms. If there are less, some must be on a journey.'
Akbar once told Birbal that he wanted to know what the most precious thing in the world was. Birbal thought for a while and said, 'Your Majesty, knowledge is the most precious thing. Because with knowledge, one can gain all other things like wealth, power and respect.' Akbar was very impressed with this answer and rewarded Birbal. This shows how Birbal's wisdom was not only in solving puzzles but also in giving profound thoughts.
Akbar and Birbal were walking in the palace grounds. Akbar said, 'Birbal, can you make me a throne out of nothing?' Birbal replied, 'Your Majesty, I can't make a throne out of nothing, but I can make you see a throne where there seems to be nothing.' He then led Akbar to a pool of water and showed Akbar the reflection of the grand throne in the water. Akbar realized Birbal's cleverness once again.
One story is that Akbar once asked Birbal how many crows were in his kingdom. Birbal quickly replied, 'There are ninety - five thousand four hundred and sixty - three crows, Your Majesty.' Akbar was surprised and asked how he could be so sure. Birbal said, 'If Your Majesty finds more crows, then some crows from other kingdoms must have come to visit. If there are fewer, then some of our crows must have gone on a trip to other kingdoms.'
One story is about the test of wisdom. Akbar put a line on the floor and asked Birbal to make it shorter without erasing it. Birbal simply drew a longer line beside it, making the first one seem shorter. This shows Birbal's quick thinking.
One story is about the wise Birbal solving the mystery of the missing royal ring. A servant was wrongly accused. Birbal noticed a crow near the window. He deduced that the crow took the ring to build its nest. He found the ring in the crow's nest and saved the innocent servant.
There was a time when Akbar and Birbal were walking in the garden. Akbar saw a mango tree full of ripe mangoes. He asked Birbal to count all the mangoes without touching any. Birbal thought for a while and then said, 'Your Majesty, there are as many mangoes as there are hairs on your beard.' Akbar laughed as he knew it was an impossible task to count the hairs on his beard and thus count the mangoes too.
One day, Akbar lost his ring in the palace garden. He was very upset. He called Birbal and told him about it. Birbal went to the garden, came back and said, 'Your Majesty, the ring is not lost. It is just that the garden has swallowed it for a while.' Akbar was confused. Birbal then ordered the gardener to dig at a particular spot. There, they found the ring. Birbal had noticed the gardener acting suspiciously and guessed he might have found the ring and hidden it.
One story is about Akbar asking Birbal how many crows are there in the city. Birbal quickly replied that there are 99,999 crows. When Akbar questioned how he was so sure, Birbal said if there were more, then some crows from other cities must be visiting, and if there were less, then some of our crows must be visiting other cities.
One story is that Akbar once asked Birbal how many crows were in his 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 have come from other kingdoms to visit. If there are less, then some of our crows must be visiting other kingdoms.'