Akbar Birbal Story - Part 5
One day Birbal suggested to Emperor Akbar that if he ever makes a mistake, then Akbar should let Birbal choose the jury to decide the quantum of his punishment. One fateful day when Birbal did something wrong and was to be punished, Akbar let him choose his jury as promised.
Birbal called for 5 cobblers to decide his punishment. They were very pleased to help Akbar but they also found it a very good opportunity to seek revenge from him since long back Birbal tricked them all. The first cobbler asked Birbal to pay a fine of 150 gold coins.
The second cobbler thought that it was a hefty amount and might affect his family, so he reduced the fine by 20 coins from the original amount. Even the others continued to reduce the fine and finally it was decided to charge Birbal a fine of 40 gold coins only. Akbar understood why Birbal decided to choose his punishment because for a cobbler even 20 coins a year is a very big deal, so this way Birbal saved himself from a huge punishment.
