One day, a strange chaos broke out in Emperor Akbar’s court. Five courtiers had suddenly started behaving like madmen.
The first courtier spoke only in reverse.
The second refused to sit on a chair and lay on the floor while talking.
The third burst into loud laughter at every single thing, whether it was funny or not.
The fourth said “Meow” after every sentence.
And the fifth answered only while standing on one leg.
The work of the court came to a halt. Akbar became very annoyed. He called Birbal and said, “Birbal, have these five gone mad? Fix them!”
Birbal smiled and replied, “Your Majesty, there is no need to punish them. A small unique trick will be enough.”
Birbal called the five courtiers forward and said, “All of you are very special. Today I will choose the wisest among you. For that, there is a small task.”
Then he said to the first courtier, “Tell me straight — what is two plus two?”
Because of his habit of speaking in reverse, he could not give a clear answer.
To the second, he said, “Sit on the chair and read this paper.”
He could not read because he insisted on lying on the floor.
To the third, he said, “Tell me one serious thing without laughing.”
He fell down laughing.
To the fourth, he said, “Say your name without saying meow.”
He kept meowing again and again.
To the fifth, he said, “Stand on both feet and say one straight sentence.”
He wobbled on one leg and almost fell.
Birbal then said in front of everyone, “Did you see? In trying to act mad, you cannot even do ordinary things. True wisdom does not lie in acting crazy. It lies in normal and sensible behaviour.”
The five courtiers felt ashamed. They apologised and slowly gave up their mad acts. The court became peaceful and pleasant again.
Akbar laughed and said, “Birbal, you corrected all five of them without scolding. Wonderful!”
Moral: Acting mad to get attention is not wisdom. Real identity is built through good and normal behaviour.