Once, there was a significant rat infestation in one of the villages in Vijayanagara. The rats spoilt everything in the houses. They touched everything in the kitchen, nibbled on food kept in sacks and tore the clothes. Tired of the rat menace, the villagers requested the King to provide a solution.

King Krishnadevaraya called his council of ministers and said, “We need to do something about the rat problem. I will reward the one who is successful in getting rid of the rats.”

The ministers thought about it, and many came up with a solution more absurd than the next.

Finally, one of the ministers said, “Your majesty, everyone knows that cats eat rats. So let us provide a cat to each household to get rid of the rodent problem.”

The King said, “This is an excellent idea. Ensure that you give a cat to every house.”

Another minister prompted, “But your majesty, will the villagers be able to feed the cat?”

The King thought for a second and said, “Provide a cow as well so that the villagers would not have any trouble feeding the cat.”

All these suggestions in the King’s court entertained Tenali Raman, but he kept quiet.

The King provided a cow and a cat to each villager. A few days later, the King called the villagers to the palace. “Is your village free of the rats?” asked the King.

All but one of the villagers shook their heads. They said, “No, your majesty, there is absolutely no difference. The rats are still troubling us. In addition, we now have to feed our cats as well.”

Noticing the one person who nodded his head, the King asked, “How about you?”

The villager replied, “Yes, your majesty. There have been no rats in my house since the cat’s arrival.”

The King was perplexed. “But why did it work in your case? Did you not feed milk to your cat?” he asked.

“I tried, your majesty,” replied the villager. “But the cat refused to touch the milk.”

“Why would a cat refuse milk?” wondered the King. He saw Tenali Raman smiling and asked him, “Rama, what do you know of this strange behaviour of the cat?”

“Your majesty, the day you provided everyone with the cats and cows, I went to this villager’s house. Without his knowledge, I had placed a bowl full of boiling milk in front of the cat. When the cat took the first sip, it got scalded and from then on refused to drink milk. In his hunger, he began searching for rats to kill and eat. That is the reason this villager’s house is free of the rat infestation.”

King Krishnadevaraya was impressed. Addressing the villagers, he said, “Providing the cats with milk make them lazy to hunt for rats. Stop feeding milk to the cats, and they will begin hunting the rats for food.”

The King praised Tenali Raman for his intelligence and rewarded him. Eventually, the village was free from the rat infestation.