Harisarman’s Lucky Guesses

Harisarman worked at a wealthy household, but he felt unnoticed. During a grand wedding, he was overlooked again. Instead of explaining his hurt, he made a foolish plan to appear much wiser than he really was.

He hid the household’s horse in a nearby safe stable. When people searched, he claimed he could discover its location through mysterious knowledge. He pointed them to the very place where he had hidden it.

The horse returned unharmed, and people praised his apparent gift. Harisarman knew the praise rested on a trick. Before he could untangle it, the king heard the story and asked him to find missing palace treasure.

Alone in a quiet room, Harisarman worried aloud. “Oh, my tongue! What trouble you have brought me!” A palace attendant named Jihva, whose name meant tongue, heard him outside and thought her secret had been discovered.

Jihva confessed that she had hidden the missing treasure beneath a pomegranate tree. Harisarman urged her to return it and tell the king. Together they brought the recovered bags into the palace courtyard that morning.

The king was grateful, but a thoughtful adviser wondered how Harisarman knew. To test the claim, he placed a small frog inside a covered jar with air holes. Harisarman had to say what was hidden.

Harisarman felt trapped by his own story. Remembering his childhood nickname, he sighed, “Poor little Froggie, you are caught at last!” The adviser lifted the lid, and the real frog peeped out into the light.

Everyone marveled at the apparent answer. Harisarman could have accepted another reward, but his stomach tightened. These were accidents, not powers. He stood up and asked the king to hear the whole story from its beginning.

He admitted hiding the horse and explained the two lucky coincidences. He returned the rewards and apologized. The king listened, thanked Jihva for returning the treasure, and asked Harisarman what honest work he could do.

Harisarman chose to help care for the stables, where his real skills could grow. The frog went back to a garden pond. He had lost his false reputation, but gained something steadier: a name supported by truthful actions.