Tenali Rama And The Racing Horse

One fine day, an Arabian horse trader came to Vijayanagra with a shipload of the finest Persian horses. The King, who was an avid horse lover, bought many such horses from the trader. The courtiers, too, bought one horse each.

All this while, Tenali Raman was quiet and showed disinterest. Observing this, one of the courtiers asked Raman why he was so silent and why he wasn’t buying a horse. 

Raman replied that the Vijayanagara horses were superior to the Persian horses. The King and the courtiers were surprised to hear this. The King asked Raman how he was so sure and if he could prove it. 

“Certainly, your majesty,” Raman replied.

The king then announced that there would be a horse race between a Vijayanagara horse trained by Raman and the Persian horses trained by the rest of the courtiers. The race would determine which horse breed is superior.

The courtiers put in a lot of effort in training and feeding their horses. On the day of the race, the horses were lined up on the racetrack. Tenali Raman also brought his horse, which looked weak and malnourished. Everyone laughed and said that Raman would lose the race. When it was time for the race, Raman announced he would ride the horse. He then took a long pole and tied some grass to the edge of the pole. He mounted the horse and held the pole in front of the horse so that it could see the grass but not reach for it.

The race started, and all the horses ran swiftly. Raman dangled the grass in front of the horse. The hungry horse ran for the grass, but no matter how fast it ran, it could not reach the grass. The horse kept running as fast as it could, and eventually, it came first. Everyone was surprised by what had happened. The king asked Raman how he did it. Raman smiled and said that hunger to succeed is the only thing that can help anyone succeed. The king understood what Raman meant and rewarded him for his intelligence. 

Moral
Always have a strong urge or hunger to succeed.