In the Kingdom of Fools (A Short Story)

In the Kingdom of Fools

(A Kannada Folktale)

It is believed that fools are so dangerous that only very wise people can handle them. Once there lived a foolish king and his silly minister, they were against nature. So the king changed day into night and night into day. One day a guru and his disciple arrived there and they were very happy because each and every thing in the market cost a single rupee; they could buy and eat a lot in just a few rupees. The guru decided to leave the place but the disciple wanted to stay there and enjoy. 

One night a burglar was killed when a wall fell on him while he was stealing at a merchant’s house. His brother went to the king and complained against the merchant for having build a weak wall which fell and killed this brother (the burglar) while he carried on this ancestral trade (burglary). The king summoned the merchant and told his minister to investigate the case. After further investigation he was sentenced to death. But he was so thin that he couldn’t fit in the stake. So the king ordered his soldiers to bring a fat man who could fit for the stake. According to the king’s order, the soldiers caught the disciple who had become fat by eating a lot of ghee, fruits, sweets etc. The disciple was in a stuck. He remembered g his guru and prayed for his help. And the wise guru arrived. The guru fooled both of them, the king and the minister by saying that it was the most auspicious time and whoever would die first on this stake would become the king in the next life, and the next would become the minister. So the king and the minister decided to die on the stake. 

After their death, the guru and his disciple were free again and wanted to leave the kingdom.  The people requested them to be their king and the minister. From then on, day would be day and night would be night. And you could get nothing for a single rupee.

(A Folktale Edited by: A.K. Ramanujan)

Story Retold by:

Satish Warde, Class 9

Session 2014-15