The Pot of Wit

Emperor Akbar loved to test Birbal’s wit. He often came up with strange and impossible tasks just to see how his clever minister would solve them.

One sunny morning, the court was full of ministers and nobles. Akbar leaned forward on his throne and said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, “Birbal, I have a new challenge for you.”

“I am ready to serve, Your Majesty,” Birbal bowed.

“I have heard that ‘wit’ is a great thing,” said Akbar. “But I have never seen it. I want you to bring me a pot filled to the brim with pure Wit. And mind you, it must be the pot’s own wit, not yours!”

The courtiers gasped. “A pot of wit?” they whispered. “Wit is not like water or rice! You cannot put it in a pot! Surely Birbal will fail this time.”

“If you cannot do this,” Akbar added seriously, “you shall be sent away from the court for a month.”

Birbal smiled calmly. “I accept the challenge, Jahanpanah (Protector of the World). But wit is a rare thing to grow. I will need a few weeks to prepare it.”

Akbar agreed.

Birbal went home and went straight to his vegetable garden. He found a small, healthy watermelon plant (some say it was a pumpkin, but let’s say a watermelon for its roundness). He found a tiny, baby watermelon that had just started to grow. Without picking it from the vine, he carefully placed the little fruit inside a sturdy earthen pot with a narrow neck.

He left the pot in the garden, watering the plant every day. The watermelon grew and grew inside the safety of the pot. Week after week, it expanded until it filled the entire pot, pressing against the sides. It became too big to pass through the narrow neck.

Birbal then cut the vine, leaving the watermelon trapped neatly inside the pot. He cleaned the outside of the pot and covered the mouth with a fine silk cloth.

He carried it to the royal court.

“Your Majesty,” Birbal announced, placing the heavy pot before the throne. “Here is the Pot of Wit you asked for.”

Akbar looked at the pot curiously. “Is it full?”

“Completely full,” said Birbal. “But there is one condition. This wit is very precious. You must take it out without breaking the pot, and you must not cut the wit itself.”

Akbar removed the silk cloth and peered inside. He saw the large fruit filling every inch of space. He tried to reach in, but the neck was too narrow. He shook it, but the fruit was too big to fall out. He realized that the only way to get it out was to break the pot—which was forbidden by Birbal’s condition!

Akbar burst into laughter. He realized that Birbal had tricked him beautifully. “Birbal,” he chuckled, “you have indeed brought me a pot full of wit! And I see it is impossible to take it out without destroying it!”

The courtiers marveled at Birbal’s clever solution. He had taken a physical object and used it to demonstrate an abstract idea, proving once again that he was the wittiest man in the empire.

Moral of the Story: With a little patience and clever thinking, even the impossible becomes possible.