The Barber Who Could Not Keep the King's Secret

Hello, everyone.

    Today I am going to tell you rather a funny story of a king who had very big ears and a barber.

    Read on and find out what happens when the barber could not keep the king’s secret.

The Barber Who Could Not Keep the King’s Secret

    Once upon a time, there was a king in India. This king had very long ears. He was very much ashamed of them and so he always kept them hidden under his royal turban. He had an old barber who cut his hair. He had been sworn to secrecy never to reveal to anyone that he had long ears. Now suddenly, this barber died. The king had to look for another barber who would not only cut his hair nicely but also keep his secret. The prime minister knew of his secret and searched very hard until he found a barber who would cut the king’s hair. He was also sworn to secrecy that he would never reveal the king’s secret no matter what happened.

    The first time this barber went to cut the king’s hair he never expected to see what he saw! When the king took off his turban his ears flopped down like a rabbit. The barber was shocked! He never expected the king’s ears to be so big. He went home that day but he just couldn’t get the king’s big ears out of his mind. He had to tell someone about it. But the trouble was he was sworn to secrecy and if he revealed the secret to anyone he would be killed immediately. He could not even sleep at night he wanted to talk to someone so badly about the secret. His stomach began to pain out of sheer stress. He had to tell someone but who? Suddenly he had an idea. He went into the jungle and whispered the secret to a tree. After doing that he felt much better and he went back home and went to sleep.

    Now the next day, there was a drummer who wanted to make another drum and so he went to the jungle to cut some wood for it. As it happened he went to the very tree that the barber had told the secret to! The drummer cut the tree and took the wood home. He made a beautiful drum out of it. That day he had been invited by the king to beat his drum at a party he had given that night.

    When the party started the drummer began to beat his drum. But what is this? The drum started to sing “the king has very big ears like a rabbit”! The drummer was shocked! He stared at his drum. Whenever he beat it the same song came out.

    The king was very angry and had the drummer arrested and brought before him. The drummer begged and pleaded he had nothing to do whatsoever with the drum singing. He told the king that he had just gone to the jungle and cut some wood and made a drum out of it. He had no idea as to how this had happened. The king told him to show the tree that he had cut. The drummer immediately took them to it. When the king and his men went there, they saw that the cut tree was still singing the song, “the king has big ears like a rabbit”.

    The king was puzzled. The only person that he had told his secret to besides his trusted men was the barber. Could he have told the secret to the tree?

    The king, at once summoned the barber. The barber was very much frightened but he came. The king asked him if he told anyone his secret. He swore he hadn’t told anyone. And then the king asked, “Not even a tree?”

    The barber bent his head and said nothing. The king was very angry and sentenced him to death.

    Now there was a custom there when a prisoner was sentenced to death he would be asked for his last wish. When the barber was asked for his last wish, he thought for a while and then he said, “My last wish is to see the king climb a mountain.”

    Everyone was surprised by such a wish. But the king had to do it.

    And so the very next day, the king got ready and started to climb the mountain. When he got higher the wind became very strong and suddenly the king’s turban flew away revealing his big ears. Now, everyone knew the king’s secret. People were amused but they dared not laugh.

    It was no longer necessary to kill the barber as everyone knew the king’s secret and he was set free.

    The barber’s quick wit had saved his life.