Birbal, whose real name was 'Maheshdas', was one of the 'nine gems' of court advisers of Akbar the Great. He composed poetry by another pen name 'Brahma'. He led a famous expedition into faraway Afghanistan and managed to subdue the turbulence there. Hearing the news of his death there, Akbar burst forth: "Birbal, you always gave the helpless whatever you had. I am helpless now and yet you have left nothing for me!" Birbal's name however does not rest on these achievements. He turned into a legend by the innumerable stories of his wit and wisdom, sense of justice and fair play and above all, his uncanny skill in turning the tables on his detractors. In the stories here, Birbal exposes an unsuspecting thief through a simple trick, identifies the owner of a purse by throwing it into boiling water, tricks a liar into telling the truth by the ruse of calling a tree as witness, wins justice for a poor man by 'cooking' on a fire far away, proposes to cut down a mango tree to find out who really brought it up!