This is one of the funny Akbar Birbal short stories for children. The Emperor of Persia used to send riddles to Akbar. Akbar in return also used to send puzzles to the Persian Emperor. Both were good friends. Also, read The Water In The Well.
Once, the Persian Emperor did send a big cage with an artificial lion in it. The lion in the cage looked as though it was real. When the cage arrived in the court, many courtiers were frightened. Some even went to hide themselves behind pillars. Even Emperor Akbar missed a few heart beats. The lion’s mouth was open with two big protruding teeth.
The men who brought the cage saluted the Emperor and said, “Our Emperor has sent this cage and he wanted to know whether any of your countries could take the lion out of the cage without breaking the cage or changing the lion’s posture.” All were puzzled. No one was able to do it. All were waiting for Birbal who had gone on a pilgrimage. He was expected in a month. The time given to solve the problem was only twenty days. Akbar was worried.
Next day, Abdul Fazal and Fawzi offered to bring the lion out of the cage after breaking its body. It was not possible. The lion’s body was made out of some metal. You may also like to read, The Mango Tree.
Luckily, Birbal came back early as his wife could not bear the heat during the journey. Akbar sent for him immediately and showed the cage to him. Birbal examined the cage and lion carefully and asked for a days time to solve the problem. Akbar was confident that Birbal would be able to solve it. Birbal found that the lion was made out of wax and was given a coating of a metal.
Next day, he brought an iron rod. When he came to the court, Birbal asked his attendant to heat the rod until it became red hot. The rod had a wooden handle. Birbal took the red hot rod near the lion. The lion started melting in the heat. In a few minutes, the whole body was melted.
Then, there was no lion in the cage. The puzzle was solved. Akbar was very happy. All the courtiers admired Birbal. Also, read The Tell Tale Nails.
Here is a short visual depiction of one f the funny Akbar Birbal short stories“The Lion’s Cage”. See the video story below,