The Basket of Wind

One day, a man came to Emperor Akbar’s court boasting of a strange talent.

“Your Majesty,” he declared proudly, “I can trap the wind in a basket!”

The courtiers laughed, amused by his absurd claim. But the man remained serious, insisting he had mastered the art of controlling nature itself.

Akbar, curious and entertained, turned to Birbal. “This is quite a claim. What do you think, Birbal? Should we let him prove it?”

Birbal nodded and stepped forward. He handed the man a simple basket open from the top and gave him a wooden lid.

“Before you trap the wind,” Birbal said, “let’s start small. Breathe into the basket and quickly close it. Then, open it later and show us your breath.”

The man did as told he took a deep breath, blew into the basket, slammed the lid shut, and smiled confidently.

Birbal waited a moment, then said, “Now open it, and let us see if your breath remains inside.”

The man lifted the lid… and, of course, nothing happened.

Birbal turned to the court and said calmly, “If you cannot even trap your own breath which is part of you how can you claim to trap the wind, which belongs to no one? Nature cannot be controlled by noise or false pride.”

Akbar smiled in approval. “Well said, Birbal. Let this be a lesson to all don’t make promises that even nature laughs at.”

Moral: Boasting of the impossible only exposes one’s ignorance nature bows to no one’s pride.