Emperor Akbar was having some official discussions with his courtiers. Suddenly, the courtiers noticed him distracted by something. The object of his attention was a bunch of crows drinking water from a pond on the palace grounds.

Akbar was amazed at the birds’ sheer number and started counting the crows one by one, but soon he lost count. He thought, “I wonder how many crows are there in my Kingdom?”

Then he spoke to his courtiers, “I need to know the number of crows in my kingdom. Who can tell me? Ten thousand gold coins to the person who gives me the correct answer. You have one week to find the answer.”

The courtiers were all excited at the prospect of the reward. Over the week, people noticed that the courtiers did nothing but count the crows. This action of the courtiers left their friends and relatives worried. They wondered if the courtiers had bumped their heads and lost their senses.

After a week, Akbar brought up the topic of the crows. “Have you all been able to find the number of crows in the kingdom?”

There was a buzz among the courtiers who were excited about the reward, but before they could give their respective answers, Akbar interrupted, saying, “If you get the answer wrong, I will punish you.”

The buzzing stopped. The prospect of money was not that appealing when there was a fear of punishment. Birbal was silent the whole time.

Akbar addressed Birbal and said, “You are unusually quiet, Birbal. I am shocked you do not know the answer.”

Birbal replied, “I know the answer, but I was waiting for someone else to respond. There is a total of seventy-two thousand six hundred eighty-three birds in your kingdom, your majesty.”

“Are you sure, Birbal? I will send my men to count the birds. If their number does not match, favorite minister or not, I will punish you,” challenged Akbar. “What if there is even one crow less than the number you had mentioned?”

“I am not worried, your majesty,” answered Birbal. “If there is one crow less, the chances are that one of them has gone to visit its relatives in the neighboring kingdom.”

“And if there are a few of them more?” asked Akbar amused. He knew there would be a witty response from Birbal.

“If there are a few more, it is highly likely that a few crows had come to our kingdom to visit their relatives,” replied Birbal.

The whole court started laughing. The courtiers were all in agreement that Birbal deserved every praise he received from the emperor. Akbar was pleased with Birbal and duly gave him his reward.