The God Of The Jungle
The God Of The Jungle is an amazing bedtime story for children
One day, the Emperor thought of making fun of Birbal. And for this, he thought of a clever plan. He had a trap prepared by a carpenter. The trap was such that, one could not recognize it as a trap from its outward appearance. Then, the Emperor placed a fine Kashmiri apple in it. It was nearly time for Birbal’s arrival at the court. The Emperor secretly hid near the trap and anxiously awaited Birbal.
Birbal entered the court after some time. He saw the fine apple and casually lifted it. At once, his hand was caught in the trap.
The hidden Emperor immediately came out and said, “Wow, it is you, Birbal! My small things were being robbed from my palace and so to capture the thief, I had prepared this trap. But, how did you get trapped in it? However, I trust you. But, you must not repeat this again!
Saying so, the Emperor smiled and released Birbal from the trap. Then Birbal said, “Your Majesty, I saw this fine juicy apple, and quite naturally, I went ahead to touch it. It didn’t really intend to steal it!
The Emperor however asked him to forget the matter and not give an explanation about such a trifle. But Birbal was very embarrassed and silently he went away. The incident had left an unpleasant impact on him. The Emperor took advantage of it started teasing Birbal by saying, “Why, how was the apple Birbal?”
Because of such sarcastic comments, Birbal would get even more ashamed. He wished somehow he could get out of the embarrassment. At last, an idea occurred in his mind.
One day, the Emperor was going for a hunt. Birbal had purposely avoided going for hunting and so the Emperor had to go alone. While hunting, the Emperor reached a lonely spot. By now, it was evening. Suddenly he heard a voice Hey, who are you? Where are you going? Get down from the horse, quick!”
The Emperor turned back to see who it was and found that a wild man dressed in tiger skin was standing there with a large bamboo stick in hand. The Emperor tried to avoid him and started going ahead. Suddenly, the wild man hit his bamboo loudly on the ground and shouted, “Aren’t you getting down? I am the God of this jungle. You must obey me!”
Now, the Emperor was scared. He got down and bowing before the God of the jungle said,” Oh Lord, who are you? I have come here for hunting. This jungle lies within the limits of my kingdom. But, now I am returning back. ”He was about to leave when the God of the jungle said,“ Wait, this is my land. You have trespassed on it and so you must be punished!
The Emperor was really scared. He said, “Oh Lord, please forgive me. It happened quite unknowingly!”
“Well, then. but I must give you a small punishment. Because you have entered my jungle without seeking proper permission. Can you see that tree over there, run to that tree, and while running say, “Like the God of the jungle!”
The Emperor did obediently as he was told to do. Afterward, he returned to his palace.
The next day, when Birbal came to the palace, as usual, the Emperor asked, “Why, Birbal, how was the apple?”
“Like the God of the jungle,” at once Birbal replied. The Emperor was astonished. He wondered how Birbal had come to know about the previous day’s incident. He said, “Birbal, how do you know about the God of the jungle?”
Birbal replied, “Your Majesty, last night I had a dream. Because of that, I came to know all that!”
In fact, Birbal himself in the disguise of the wildman had made fun of Emperor Akbar.
From that day onwards, the Emperor stopped teasing and making fun of Birbal.
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