All of them waited anxiously for the arrival of the Caliph.
A few minutes later, the Caliph entered the court room. All the courtiers stood up and greeted him. The Caliph took his seat. Then the others sat down.
"I have a problem," said the Caliph. "That is why I called this meeting. Last night my wife asked me a question: 'Who is more important - the sun or the moon?' I could not give her a proper answer. I want everyone of you to answer the question. The man who gives the best answer will get one thousand coins."
For a minute there was silence in the court room. Then the seniormost minister got up and said: "Your Majesty, the sun gives us a lot of light and heat. But the moon's light is dim. Also, he does not give us any heat. So I think the sun is more important."
"That is a good answer," said the Caliph. Then, one by one, the other courtiers spoke. They all supported the minister. They said the sun was more important.
At last only two people were left - Siraj and Mullah Nazaruddin.
Siraj got up and said: "Your Majesty, every day the sun appears at the same time. He shines throughout the day. But the moon is not at all regular. Sometimes he appears soon after nightfall. Some other times, he appears after midnight. Also, the moon has no definite shape. Only once in a month, he appears in his full shape. Then he becomes smaller and smaller and disappears. But the sun is always round and beautiful. So the sun is more important." "Good," said the Caliph. "That is a very good answer."
Then Mullah Nazaruddin said: "Sir, the sun gives us light only during the day. The days are anyway bright. The nights are dark and we need light in the night. The moon gives us light during the night. So clearly the moon is more important."
"That is a very clever answer," said the Caliph. "I have got my answer. The meeting is over."
When the Mullah went home, he had a bag in his hand. There were a thousand coins in the bag.
No comments:
Post a Comment