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.'
Once, Akbar wanted to test Birbal's intelligence. He drew a line on the floor and said, 'Birbal, make this line shorter without erasing any part of it.' Birbal simply drew a longer line beside it. By comparison, the first line looked shorter. This showed Birbal's quick - thinking and wisdom.
Once Akbar and Birbal were taking a walk in the garden. Akbar saw a mango tree full of ripe mangoes. He said to Birbal, 'I want to know how many mangoes are there on this tree without counting them.' Birbal said, 'Your Majesty, there are as many mangoes as there are leaves on the tree.' Akbar was amused and realized Birbal's quick - thinking ability.
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.
Once Akbar lost his ring in the palace. He asked Birbal to find it. Birbal thought for a while and then announced that the thief was the person who had a long nose. All the courtiers started looking at each other's noses. Akbar was confused too. Birbal then said that he just wanted everyone to search themselves. And soon the ring was found in a corner of the room. This shows Birbal's cleverness in solving problems in an interesting way.
Once, Akbar asked Birbal, 'Birbal, how many stars are there in the sky?' Birbal quickly replied, 'Just as many as the hairs on your Majesty's beard.' Akbar was amused and satisfied with this clever answer.
One well - known story is about the ring. Akbar lost his precious ring in the palace. He asked Birbal to find it. Birbal announced that the person who stole the ring would be identified by a magic mirror the next day. He also secretly placed a box with a hole in the middle of the palace yard. Everyone was made to pass by it. The thief, fearing detection by the mirror, put the ring in the box while passing by to get rid of it. Thus Birbal found the ring cleverly.
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 asked how he was so sure, Birbal said that if there were more, then the extra crows would be visiting from other places and if there were less, then some of our crows must be visiting other places.
Sure. Once Akbar asked Birbal, 'How many crows are there in the city?' Birbal quickly replied, 'There are 50,589 crows, Your Majesty.' Akbar was surprised and asked, 'How can you be so sure?' Birbal said, 'If there were more, then the extra crows would be visiting from other places. If there were less, then the crows from our city would be visiting other places.'
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.