One day, there was laughter and fun in the court. Akbar was in a cheerful mood. Suddenly he said to Birbal, “Birbal, today we place a bet with you. If you lose, you will have to dance in front of the whole court. And if you win, we will give you a special reward.”
Birbal smiled, “Your Majesty, first tell me the bet.”
Akbar said, “Our special royal sweet-maker is very proud. He never admits his mistake. The bet is that you must make him admit one small mistake today. Just make him say ‘I made a mistake’ once.”
Birbal accepted the bet.
In the afternoon, when the sweet-maker brought a special dessert for the emperor, Birbal praised it a lot. Then he said softly, “Wonderful! The sweet is excellent… just a little less sugar than needed.”
The sweet-maker immediately got upset, “Less sugar? I have put exactly the right amount!”
Birbal said calmly, “All right, then you tell me what the correct measure of sugar in the sweet should be.”
The sweet-maker proudly started explaining his measure. At that very moment, Birbal asked for a small weighing scale and showed that the sugar was indeed a little less.
The sweet-maker’s face turned red. After remaining quiet for a while, he lowered his head and said, “Yes… Today I made a small mistake.”
Laughter echoed through the entire court. Akbar clapped and said, “Birbal, you have won the bet! You did it with cleverness, without scolding.”
Birbal said humbly, “Your Majesty, winning a bet is not as great as making someone accept the truth without humiliating them.”
Akbar happily gave Birbal the reward and also encouraged the sweet-maker that admitting a mistake is a big thing.
Moral: Admitting a mistake is not weakness; it is wisdom and honesty. Words spoken with cleverness reach the heart.