The Kingdom of Fools
The Kingdom of Fools
The Kingdom of Fools
What are the two strange things the guru and his disciple find in the
Kingdom of Fools?
Ans: The two strange things that the guru and his disciple found in the
kingdom of fools were that the whole kingdom was asleep during the day and
carry out their work at night, and whether it was a measure of rice or a bunch
of banana everything cost the same in the kingdom, one duddu (one rupee).
3. Name all the people who are tried in the king’s court, and give the
reasons for their trial.
Ans: The merchant whose house was burgled was the first accused because
his house’s wall collapsed and killed the thief. The next person was the
bricklayer who built the wall as it was thought that his bad workmanship
created a weak wall and killed the thief. Then the dancing girl was accused of
distracting the bricklayer with her jingling anklets walking up and down the
road where the bricklayer was laying the wall. Next accused was the
goldsmith who he didn’t complete the dancing girl’s order on time and so she
had to go to the goldsmith a dozen times. The goldsmith passed the buck on
the merchant’s father as his pressure on the goldsmith delayed the finishing of
dancer’s work. At last the wheel turned full circle and the blame came back to
the original merchant but because he was too thin to be executed by the
newly made stake and a fat man was required to fit the stake. The disciple
was very fat, hence he was caught.
4. Who is the real culprit according to the king? Why does he escape
punishment?
Ans: According to the king's weird logic, the merchant inherited everything
from his father so he should take the share of his father’s sin as well. As the
merchant was too thin to fit on the new execution stake so he escaped
execution. The king concluded that a man fat enough to fit the stake will serve
the purpose.
5. What are the Guru’s words of wisdom? When does the disciple
remember them?'
Ans: The guru’s words of wisdom were that it was the city of fools. He
advised the disciple to leave the city because he would not know what they
would do next. The disciple remembers this when he was going to be
executed.