One day, a group of 3 men are sitting near the royal palace and talking with each other. They are having a good time and laughing happily. At the same time, Akbar comes out onto the balcony of his palace and sees the 3 men talking. He gets irritated at this sight and thinks to himself whether this is a palace or some choultry. In a fit of rage, he passes an order saying that trespassers will be prosecuted and also builds a huge wall around the palace.
The 3 men read the notice issued by the king stuck on the outside of the wall and were thinking on what to do. Then, they decided to approach Birbal and ask for his advice. So, they went to him and told him about the entire chain of events until now that led to their meeting. Birbal then promised them that he would convince the king to remove the order and after that the men went away.
The next day, there was an old saint sitting on the palace walls. Soon, the royal guards came and asked him to get down from the wall. The saint argued that he would not get down. However the guards persisted, he did not budge an inch. As they were arguing, Akbar came at a point of time and asked them as to what was the problem. The guards narrated to him what had transpired until now. The king then angrily asked the saint as to who he was and why he was not following the order. The king went on to say that the palace belonged to him and no one is allowed to trespass.
The saint finally spoke and he exclaimed in surprise when the king said that the palace belonged to him. He then asked the king about who had the palace before him. Akbar replied by saying that it belonged to Humayun. The saint repeated the same question again and Akbar said it belonged to Babur. Yet again, the saint repeated the same question and Akbar said that it belonged to Ibrahim Lodi. The saint had asked the same question repeatedly in order to prove a point.
The saint told Akbar that he had just proved himself that the palace belongs to no one. “After each generation, it passes to the next generation and soon and so forth and as it is so, how can one say that they own the palace?”, said the saint calmly. Akbar then realised what he had done and so he immediately took back the order which he had issued. He then asked the saint for his name and the saint was none other than Birbal himself!
Moral - One must think well before taking any decision, otherwise the consequences may be of a severe nature.