Guest at the Feast

Birbal was a keen observer. Once, a merchant invited Birbal to a feast. When he went to the merchant’s bungalow, he was surprised to see so many people there. He told the merchant, “There are so many people here! Your house seems like a marketplace!” The merchant said, “All these people are my workers. I have invited only two guests. One of them is you. Can you tell me who the other guest is?” Birbal said to the merchant, “Yes. But first, you will have to tell us a joke.” The merchant told a boring joke. When the joke was over, everyone laughed, except a man in a red turban. Birbal pointed towards the man and said, “That’s the other guest.” The merchant said, “How did you know?” Birbal said, “Your workers always like you, so they laughed even though your joke wasn’t good. But the guest was bored. So he did not laugh.”