Tenali Raman and the Cat Story in English
Once upon a time, a lot of rats had troubled the people of Vijayanagara.
Despite numerous efforts to rid the city of these pesky rodents, the problem persisted. Finally, the king devised a solution: he declared that each household would receive a cat to tackle the rat menace. To ease the burden on the citizens, he also decreed that every family would be gifted a cow to provide milk for the cats.
Tenali Raman and the Cat Story in English
However, Tenaliram, known for his wit and cunning, was skeptical of the king's decision. He devised a clever plan to challenge the wisdom of the King.
Every day, Tenaliram would give warm milk to his cat to drink. As soon as the cat drank milk, its tongue got badly burnt, so the cat gradually stopped drinking milk.
One day, the king decided to inspect the city's feline population. Upon seeing Tenaliram's frail and weak cat, he grew curious. When questioned, Tenaliram explained, "Your Majesty, this cat refuses to drink milk."
Determined to verify Tenaliram's claim, the king offered the cat a bowl of milk. Just as Tenaliram had anticipated, the cat recoiled at the sight of the milk, remembering the pain of it's burnt tongue.
The king understood that there was definitely some trick of Tenali Ram in this. He must have done something such that the cat ran away as soon as it saw the milk. He became angry and said to his soldiers, 'Tenali should be whipped a hundred times.'
Undeterred, Tenaliram met the king's gaze and calmly accepted his punishment. "My Lord, if it pleases you, deliver unto me a hundred lashes. But, I urge you to consider: is it fair to allocate precious milk to cats when humans themselves face scarcity?"
In that moment, the king experienced a revelation. He recognized the error of his decree and the injustice of prioritizing felines over his subjects' welfare. With humility, the king rescinded his order, declaring that henceforth, the milk of the cows would be reserved for the nourishment of his people, rather than their feline companions.
Through his wit and wisdom, Tenaliram not only exposed the folly of the king's decision but also ushered in a more equitable distribution of resources within the kingdom of Vijayanagara.
Read Also :
- Tenali Raman and the Two Thieves
- Tenali Raman and the Red Peacock
- Tenali Raman and Krishnadevaraya Story
