The Hospitable Relatives

One day, Birbal decided to visit his relatives in another city. He set off on his carriage. Birbal’s relatives were not hospitable people. They did not like to entertain guests. When they saw Birbal’s carriage approaching, they quickly thought of a plan to send him away. They went to the balcony and pretended to have a fight. They began shouting at each other. Birbal knew his relatives were pretending to fight so that he might go away. Birbal pretended to go away. He left his carriage outside their lane and went near the house. He hid behind some bushes. The couple had stopped fighting. He overheard them saying, “Well done! Birbal has gone away!” Just then, Birbal jumped from behind the bushes and said, “I haven’t gone! I was pretending, too!” The couple was ashamed. They turned over a new leaf and always welcomed their guests.