The Clever Scholar
In the city of Balarampur, there lived a farmer named Walchand. He had two sons, Krishan and Sundar. Krishan followed in his father’s footsteps and tended to the fields, but Sundar yearned to acquire knowledge. He set out in search of a good teacher.
He journeyed far and wide but could not find a suitable teacher. One day, while walking down a village street, Sundar swooned from hunger and exhaustion. The house before which he fell belonged to a scholar named Rishikesh, who, upon seeing Sundar’s state, had him brought inside. Sundar soon recovered and explained the reason for his travels. Impressed by Sundar’s eagerness, Rishikesh accepted him as a pupil. Sundar stayed for three years, mastering various branches of knowledge.
One day, Rishikesh said to him, “Sundar, I’ve taught you all I know. Now, you have yet to learn only one thing, which you will learn from the tribesman in the mountains. He will teach you about stealing and tracking.”
Sundar bowed to his mentor and went to the tribesman, learning all about thieving and tracking down thieves. After some time, he became adept at these arts, bid farewell to the tribesman, and returned home. On the way, he stopped to rest near a Brahmin’s house, where he was invited to lunch. Sundar shared his knowledge with his host, who then asked if he could test Sundar’s skills. Sundar agreed.
The Brahmin asked, “Can you tell me who passed by this house recently?” Sundar went to the street and examined the signs. After a while, he returned and said, “I believe about four people passed this way shortly ago. They must be soldiers or government officials. Before them, another man with a bag of coal walked this way. He seems to have stolen something.”
The Brahmin was amazed at Sundar’s insight. He revealed, “Indeed, four soldiers were here. The Queen lost her ruby necklace near the temple, and someone has stolen it. The soldiers are searching for the thief, conducting house-to-house searches. If you can catch the thief, you’ll receive a handsome reward from the king.”
Sundar listened intently and set out to follow the clues. Eventually, he arrived at a goldsmith’s house and informed the Brahmin that he had found the culprit. The Brahmin rushed to fetch the soldiers. Upon their return, they inquired how Sundar had identified the thief.
Sundar explained, “The deep footprints belonged to soldiers. I saw a solitary pair barely visible nearby, with pieces of coal scattered around. This suggested the person looked back frequently, likely in fear of the soldiers. An honest man does not walk on the edge of the road.”
Sundar led the soldiers to the goldsmith’s house. Although they had previously searched it, Sundar went inside and uncovered a bag of coal, revealing the Queen’s necklace hidden inside. The goldsmith thought no one would search among the coal. Sundar proved otherwise with his cleverness.
The king was thrilled with the recovery of the necklace. He rewarded Sundar generously and appointed him to a position of responsibility at the court.
