The kingdoms of fools class 9th NCERT summary !!
The thief’s younger brother went to the king and complained that his brother was following his ancient trade (although the ancient trade – robbing is a crime). While he was working, the wall fell on his head and he died. The thief’s brother was taking advantage of the king foolishness.He said that the merchant whose wall has fallen down on his brother was the culprit. He should have made a strong wall. He requested the king to punish the merchant and get compensation for his family.
The king said, “Justice will be done. Don’t worry,” and at once summoned the owner of the house.
summoned – To call upon someone
The king was so foolish that he did not consider the fact that the dead man was committing theft at the time of his death. He only thought that the man died because the wall fell on him and the owner of the house whose wall fell on him had to be punished. So, he called the merchant.
When the merchant arrived, the king questioned him.
“What’s your name?”
“Such and Such, Your Highness.”
“Were you at home when the dead man burgled your house?”
“Yes, My Lord. He broke in and the wall was weak. It fell on him.”
“The accused pleads guilty. Your wall killed this man’s brother. You have murdered a man. We have to punish you.”
As soon as the merchant appeared, the king asked his name. Then the king asked him whether he was at home when the dead man, the thief was burgling his house. The merchant replied that he was at home only. The thief made a hole in the wall and entered his house and when he was trying to go out, the wall fell down on him because it was weak. Then the king told the merchant that he was guilty, he did wrong, due to his weak wall, the thief died and now he would be punished.
“Lord,” said the helpless merchant, “I didn’t put up the wall. It’s really the fault of the man who built the wall. He didn’t build it right. You should punish him.”
“Who is that?”
“My Lord, this wall was built in my father’s time. I know the man. He’s an old man now. He lives nearby.”
The merchant pleaded in front of the king, requested that my lord it was not my fault. The wall was weak because the person who made the wall did not construct it properly. Hence, you should punish him. And further he added that the wall was made during his father’s time, the person who built it was very old. He knew him as he lived nearby.
The king sent out messengers to bring in the bricklayer who had built the wall. They brought him, tied hand and foot.
Bricklayer: is a person who lays the bricks and built the walls
So the king sends his soldier to call the bricklayer who built the wall. They tied his hands and feet and brought him in the king’s palace.
“You there, did you build this man’s wall in his father’s time?”
“Yes, My Lord, I did.”
Then king asked him that did he build the wall and he replied that yes he did.
“What kind of a wall is this that you built? It has fallen on a poor man and killed him. You’ve murdered him. We have to punish you by death.”
The king said that the man had built a weak wall. The wall fell on the poor thief’s head and killed him. The bricklayer would be punished for this with death.
Before the king could order the execution, the poor bricklayer pleaded, “Please listen to me before you give your orders. It’s true I built this wall and it was no good. But that was because my mind was not on it. I remember very well a dancing girl who was going up and down that street all day with her anklets jingling, and I couldn’t keep my eyes or my mind on the wall I was building. You must get that dancing girl. I know where she lives.”
Everyone is passing on the blame to another person. When the king was about to pass an order to execute the bricklayer, he requested the king to listen to him. He agreed that he did not make the wall properly. It was because of a girl who was roaming around in the street and her anklets were making a jingling sound. Due to her anklet’s jingle sound, he was not able to concentrate on his work and so, built a weak wall. It was not his mistake, it was the fault of the girl. He added that he knew where this dancing girl lived. She should be punished instead of him.
“You’re right. The case deepens. We must look into it. It is not easy to judge such complicated cases. Let’s get that dancer, wherever she is.”
The king was satisfied with the bricklayer’s explanation. He was convinced with him. He tells that this case is very complicated and will not be able to solve it so easily. He ordered his messenger to get the dancer girl.
The dancing girl, now an old woman, came trembling to the court.
“Did you walk up and down that street many years ago, while this poor man was building a wall? Did you see him?”
“Yes, My Lord, I remember it very well.”
“So you did walk up and down, with your anklets jingling. You were young and you distracted him, so he built a bad wall.
It has fallen on a poor burglar and killed him. You’ve killed an innocent man. You’ll have to be punished.”
The dancing girl had become an old woman and she was trembling as she entered the court. The king asked her that many years ago, was she dancing and roaming around in the lane while the bricklayer was constructing the wall. Her movement distracted him. She confirmed him. He told her that as she was roaming around with heranklets jingling, it distracted the bricklayer. Due to this he could not do his work properly. He built a bad wall which fell on the thief and he was killed. It was because of her that the thief died and she would be punished with death.
She thought for a minute and said, “My Lord, wait. I know now why I was walking up and down that street. I had given some gold to the goldsmith to make some jewellery for me.
He was a lazy scoundrel. He made so many excuses, said he would give it now and he would give it then and so on all day. He made me walk up and down to his house a dozen times.
Goldsmith is a person who makes ornaments out of gold.
scoundrel: a dishonest person
The dancing girl transferred the blame onto another person. She said that she was roaming around in this lane again and again because she had to visit the goldsmith’s shjop. She had given some gold to him to make jewellery out of it. He was a dishonest person. He was making excuses for not making her ornaments in time. He kept on asking her to come after some time. Due to this, she had to go to his house at least a dozen times. So, the dancing girl said that it was the fault of the goldsmith.
That was when this bricklayer saw me. It’s not my fault, My Lord, it’s the damned goldsmith’s fault.”
Further this dancing girl says that when the bricklayer saw her and got distracted, it was the fault of the goldsmith because of whom she was roaming in the lane again and again.
“Poor thing, she’s absolutely right,” thought the king, weighing the evidence.
“We’ve got the real culprit at last. Get the goldsmith, wherever he is hiding. At once!”
Now the king says that the poor dancing girl was totally right. He thought a lot and finally said that now they knew who the real culprit was. He ordered to bring the goldsmith.
The king’s bailiffs searched for the goldsmith, who was hiding in a corner of his shop. When he heard the accusation against him, he had his own story to tell.
accusation: to blame someone
bailiffs: a law officer who makes sure that the decisions of a court are obeyed.
The bailiffs in the king’s court went in search of the goldsmith and brought him to the court. The goldsmith was hiding inside his shop as he feared being arrested. When he was brought in front of the king, he told his side of the story.
“My Lord,” he said, “I’m a poor goldsmith. It’s true I made this dancer come many times to my door. I gave her excuses because I couldn’t finish making her jewellery before I finished the rich merchant’s orders. They had a wedding coming, and they wouldn’t wait. You know how impatient rich men are!”
He said that the dancing girl was right. He made many excuses and made her visit his shop again and again. But it was not his fault. He had an order from a rich merchant and they had a wedding at their place and were in a hurry to get their order and that is why the dancing girl’s work was getting delayed.
“Who is this rich merchant who kept you from finishing this poor woman’s jewellery, made her walk up and down, which distracted this bricklayer, which made a mess of his wall, which has now fallen on an innocent man and killed him? Can you name him?”
Then king asked the goldsmith to name the rich merchant.
The goldsmith named the merchant, and he was none other than the original owner of the house whose wall had fallen. Now justice had come full circle, thought the king, back to the merchant. When he was rudely summoned back to the court, he arrived crying, “It wasn’t me but my father who ordered the jewellery! He’s dead! I’m innocent!”
The goldsmith said that the merchant was the same merchant whose house wall had fallen down. Justice has come full circle means that the story ended at the same person from whom it had started. The thief died under the wall of the same merchant whose jewellery this goldsmith was making. Once again the merchant was called. He was crying and he knew that the king was foolish and he would give him death sentence. He said that it was not he who had ordered the jewellery, but it was his father. His father was dead and it was none of his fault.
But the king consulted his minister and ruled decisively: “It’s true your father is the true murderer. He’s dead, but somebody must be punished in his place. You’ve inherited everything from that criminal father of yours, his riches as well as his sins. I knew at once, even when I first set eyes on you, that you were at the root of this horrible crime. You must die.”
The king consulted his minister and gave the decision that the merchant’s father was the murderer. The thief died because of him. As the merchant’s father was not alive and someone had to be punished for the crime, so he said that the merchant’s son who had inherited everything from his father, would have to take the punishment for his wrong doing as well. He added that when he had seen the merchant for the first time, at that moment, he had a feeling that he was the culprit. The king announced that now the merchant would have to die.
And he ordered a new stake to be made ready for the execution.
As the servants sharpened the stake and got it ready for the final impaling of the criminal, it occurred to the minister that the rich merchant was somehow too thin to be properly executed on the stake. He appealed to the king’s common sense. The king too worried about it.
stake: a post with a sharp, pointed end used to pierce through something
execution: an official killing of someone
impaling: to push a sharp pointed post through something
When this new weapon was getting ready, the minister felt that the merchant was very thin and he could not be executed in this way. He told this to the king and king got worried.
“What shall we do?” he said, when suddenly it struck him that all they needed to do was to find a man fat enough to fit the stake.
The king got an idea that they should catch hold of a man who was fat enough to be executed with the stake. The merchant would not be put to death because he was too thin to be executed with a stake. They thought of punishing another person instead of the merchant – one who was fat enough to be executed with a stake.
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