There was a courtier in the court of Akbar named Radhumal. He was a very superstitious man. One day, he started telling the emperor that a certain person by the name of Manohar was very unlucky. Whoever saw his face in the morning had a bad day.
"Lord, the whole kingdom is aware of this fact. I can present many persons in front of you who suffered badly just because they had seen Manohar's face in the morning, "Radhumal informed Akbar.
"What nonsense!" said the emperor, "Such a thing is not possible. Tomorrow I would call him in the morning and prove you wrong." The emperor ordered his servant to go and inform Manohar that he should come early morning the next day. The emperor and Manohar met in the royal garden the next day. As they were talking Akbar got the news that one of his granaries had caught fire. Akbar immediately sent some men to assess the damage. After some time as the emperor was going back to the palace, he slipped and fell down the stairs and got hurt. 'What is happening today?' he wondered. After having lunch when he came back, he again met Radhumal.
"Your Majesty, did not I tell you that Manohar was very unlucky! You should send him away immediately, "said Radhumal.
The emperor had also become afraid. He decided to imprison Manohar. He called his guards and asked them to put Manohar behind bars.
The guards immediately went to Manohar's place and arrested the poor man. All of his pleas that he was innocent fell on deaf ears. As Manohar was being taken away, he met Birbal. "What happened, Manohar? "Birbal asked in surprise. Manohar tearfully narrated the entire incident.
"ls that all? Do as I say and you would be released," said Birbal and whispered something in his ear. After some time the guards brought Manohar back to the emperor for the trial.
When the trial began in the court, Manohar defended himself, "Your Majesty, you are imprisoning me because you think that I am unlucky. But after seeing your face I am being imprisoned. Tell me who is more unlucky?" he asked the emperor. Akbar could not help smiling at this.
"I would let you go but tell me, was it Birbal who gave you this idea?"
Manohar nodded in affirmation. The king realised that all which happened to him was just his fate and Manohar was not responsible. He ordered Manohar to be released.
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