By nature, Emperor Akbar was a kind-hearted man. But there were certain blemishes in him that were wholly human, and they would rather enhance his personality than diminish his stature. One such was his whimsicality. Birbal was always there by his side to set the wrong in him right.
On one evening, when Akbar and Birbal were on their daily walks in the palace gardens, they noticed the lurching of a host of crows on the garden trees. Suddenly Akbar got a thought and asked Birbal,
"How many crows are there in my kingdom?"
This thought burrowed into his mind so deeply that he needed an answer from Birbal. As we all know, administrators evince greater interest in the compilation of data for their future plans and execution.
Birbal had wit enough to realize what to do in such an emergency.
He readily answered:
"There are ninety five thousand four hundred and sixty-three crows in the kingdom".
Amazed at his quick response, Akbar tried his best to outwit him.
"What if there be more crows than you answered?"
Without hesitation, Birbal replied, “Then some crows must have visited from neighbouring kingdoms"
"And what if there be less crows?" asked Akbar.
And then came Birbal's instant answer as usual.
"Then some crows from our kingdom must have gone on vacation to other parts"
Emperor Akbar, thereby, realized that Birbal's wit was a hard nut to crack. Nevertheless, he realized his administrative folly on statistical data.
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