One day a complaint of theft came to the court. A merchant’s small gold box had disappeared. Suspicion fell on a servant, but there was no proof.

Then a small fact came to light — at the time of the theft, a mute boy was present there. The boy could not speak, but he had seen everything.

The accused servant laughed and said, “Your Majesty, this boy is mute. What evidence can he give? The truth is already buried!”

Akbar became a little worried. Just then Birbal stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, even a mute witness can make the truth speak. Only the right method is needed.”

Birbal called the boy near. He placed a few things on the ground — a small box, a handkerchief, a cap and a shoe. Then he told the boy through gestures, “Show us what you saw using these things.”

The boy quietly got up. First he picked up the cap and pointed it towards the accused servant, then he made a gesture of covering the box with the handkerchief, and finally he made a running gesture with the shoe.

Birbal explained to everyone, “Look, this boy is telling us that the servant was wearing his cap, he hid the box with a handkerchief, and then quietly ran away.”

The accused servant’s face turned pale. He confessed.

Akbar was astonished. He said, “Birbal, you have made the mute witness’s truth speak!”

Joy shone in the boy’s eyes. The truth had come out in front of everyone without a single word being spoken.

Moral: Truth does not always need words to speak. When the right method is found, the truth speaks for itself.