One day, a strange man named Heeralal arrived at Emperor Akbar’s court. He looked like an ordinary merchant, but in his hands he carried a hen made entirely of pure gold that sparkled and dazzled everyone.
Bowing before Akbar, Heeralal said, “Your Majesty, this is my golden hen. She lays one golden egg every single day. I have heard you are the greatest collector in the world, so I wish to gift it to you. Only one condition: no one must touch her. If anyone touches her, she will stop laying eggs.”
Akbar’s eyes lit up. A golden egg every day? It was a living treasure! He immediately ordered the hen to be kept in his private chamber. The very next morning, when the maid swept the floor, a real golden egg was found lying there. Overjoyed, Akbar summoned Birbal and exclaimed, “Birbal! Look, it’s a miracle! Our treasury will grow every day!”
Birbal examined the hen carefully, then smiled and said, “Your Majesty, this is indeed remarkable. Please allow me to spend one night with the hen. I wish to understand her secret.”
Akbar laughed and agreed, “Go ahead, Birbal, but remember, no touching!”
That night, Birbal kept the hen in his room and lit lamps all around so there was no darkness. At midnight, he noticed a tiny hole in the wall. A thin hand reached through it, lifted the golden hen, placed a golden egg underneath her, and disappeared.
Birbal silently followed the hand. Outside stood Heeralal himself! Every night, he had been placing a golden egg to fool everyone. Birbal caught him on the spot.
The next day in court, Birbal revealed the entire trick. Trembling, Heeralal confessed, “I thought greed would make the emperor reward me richly. I placed a golden egg every night so everyone would believe the hen was magical.”
Akbar was angry at first, but then he burst into laughter and said, “Birbal, once again you have proved that no matter how well truth is hidden, wisdom will always find it.”
Turning to Heeralal, Akbar declared, “Your cleverness was good, but used in the wrong place. From today, you will craft real gold jewellery in our treasury. Your skill will now serve an honest purpose.”
Heeralal bowed gratefully and happily accepted.
Moral Lesson: When greed blinds us, cheating becomes easy. The habit of testing the truth is the greatest treasure of all.