The Magic Lamp

Once, a thief broke into Birbal’s house. When Birbal woke up due to the noise, the thief hid in a dark corner behind a lamp. The place was dusty and the thief sneezed. Birbal stood at a distance from the lamp and said, “Dear Lamp, why are you quiet tonight? Is there someone else in this room?” The thief thought, ‘If this magic lamp doesn’t talk, the man will catch me! I should talk.’ So he said, “I hear you, Sir.” Birbal said, “How did you go to sleep without listening to a story?” The thief said, “Tell me a story like you do, every day.” Birbal said, “There lived an old lady in a village. One night, a thief entered her house. So she screamed, ‘There is a thief in my house! Servants, please come in!’” Birbal’s servants heard him. They came rushing at once and caught the thief.