The Pigeon's Message
In days gone by, the kingdom of Shripur was ruled by King Subirsen. Shripur was a prosperous land and the king was a man of vision and wisdom. The people were happy. Unfortunately, the more prosperous Shripur became, the more was the jealousy it raised in the heart of the neighboring king, Ranvir. Ranvir's kingdom, Merpur, was a small land. Ranvir desired to create chaos in Shripur so that he could wage a war and annex some areas of Shripur. But his plan never succeeded because King Subirsen was alert and vigilant. Subirsen had no desire for the lands of his neighbors. In fact, he had nothing but goodwill even for Ranvir. But Ranvir was not the man to appreciate that. Subirsen's court scholar died suddenly and he wanted to appoint another scholar to the post. When it was known, several scholars came to the king's court, offering, their candidature. The king who was a well-read man himself found that two scholars outshone all the rest. They were Ram and Prabhu. He decided to examine them further. Both the scholars were lodged in the royal guest house, waiting for the king's final decision. At sunset, the king was strolling on the terrace of the palace.
A pigeon came flying to him, holding a folded piece of paper in its beak. The king took it and opened it. The message on it read, "You must appoint Ram as the court scholar. Otherwise, you shall meet with dire consequence!" The pigeon had flown away. The king was terribly annoyed. His wrath fell on Ram. He concluded that Ram, afraid of a possible rejection, was trying to get the post by threatening him. The king at once ordered Ram to be thrown into jail. Poor Ram had just finished bathing in the river. He was returning to the guest house, reciting some sweet hymns, suddenly the king's soldiers surrounded him. He was only allowed to change his clothes before being led away. At night the king entered the jail, alone. Ram sat quiet, muttering God's name. "You must be surprised to see me, aren't you?" asked the king. "I am surprised, but not as much as I was when I was arrested!" replied Ram. The king showed him the letter which the pigeon had brought and asked him who wrote it. Ram saw the letter and thought over the matter for some time. Then he said, "My lord, it was not unnatural for you to think that I had written this. But surely, by now you have started thinking otherwise. I could not have written this. First of all, it is an absurd hope to get your favor through such a vague threat. Secondly, I was sure that you examined me and Prabhu, you would have found out that he was not a genuine scholar. You would have appointed me to the vacant post in the normal course." "I think you are right. Maybe, somebody played a practical joke on me and I was foolish enough to fall victim to him. I must release you forthwith," said the king.
"My lord, you need not be in a hurry to release me," said Ram. The king looked surprised. Ram smiled and observed, "I am afraid, there is some conspiracy behind this letter." Then Ram advised the king to act in a certain way. The next day Prabhu was informed that he had been appointed as the court scholar. He was given a warm reception in the court and was shown a fine house. Four servants were placed at his command, among them a deaf one. "Although deaf, he is a very good worker," Prabhu was told. Prabhu felt highly flattered. In the evening two men came to meet him. Prabhu immediately sent all his servants away on different works except the deaf one. "So, you have heard the good news, haven't you? Our plan succeeded thanks to the pigeon. Return to Merpur tonight itself and inform our king that in no time I shall gather all the defense secrets of Shripur. Thereafter it will be so easy for King Ranvir to defeat King Subirsen," Prabhu told his visitors. The deaf servant was none other than the chief of the king's detectives. He passed on word immediately. Within minutes Prabhu and the two spies were arrested. Ram was appointed not only a court scholar but also a minister.
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