Summary
In the Kingdom of Fools is a humorous and thought-provoking folktale adapted from A.K. Ramanujan’s Folk Tales from India. The story is set in a kingdom ruled by a foolish king and his equally foolish ministers, who set strange laws. The king and his ministers declared that day would be treated as night and night as day, so the kingdom’s residents would sleep during the day and work through the night. In addition, everything in the kingdom was sold for just one rupee, making it seem like an idyllic place for a while.
One day, a guru and his disciple arrived in the kingdom. Initially, they were amused by the inexpensive food and goods available, but the guru, realizing the foolishness of the kingdom, decided to leave. However, the disciple, a foodie, stayed behind to enjoy the food and quickly gained weight.
Trouble began when a thief broke into a merchant’s house, only for the wall to collapse on him and kill him. His brother complained to the king, blaming the merchant for the weak wall. The king summoned the merchant, who blamed the bricklayer. The bricklayer, in turn, blamed a dancing girl for distracting him, and she blamed a goldsmith. The goldsmith’s excuses led the king to punish the merchant’s father, who was already deceased, and order the merchant’s execution.
When the merchant could not fit the execution stake due to his thin frame, the king ordered that a fat man be found. The king’s men found the disciple, who pleaded innocence, but the king ignored him. The disciple, waiting for execution, remembered his guru’s wisdom and called for help. The guru, using his magical powers, appeared and whispered in the disciple’s ear. The guru then offered to take his place, but the disciple, eager to save his life, requested that the king punish him instead.
The king, confused by the conflicting requests, decided that whoever died first would be reborn as the new king, and the other would become the key minister. The king, unwilling to lose his position, secretly made plans to disguise himself as the guru and his minister as the disciple. That night, they were freed and executed the next morning.
When the people saw that the king and his ministers had been executed, they made the guru their new king and the disciple his minister. The guru, though initially reluctant, agreed to reverse the foolish laws, and the kingdom returned to a more normal way of life.
In the Kingdom of Fools teaches an important lesson: foolishness can lead to trouble, and wisdom is needed to navigate such situations. It also emphasizes that dealing with foolish people requires cleverness and insight, rather than simply applying logic.