In a village, there was a boy named Ranganna. He was very intelligent. Whenever anyone faced a problem in school, he would give good advice and help them get out of trouble. Everyone admired him and said, “Hey! Your brain is something special; people with your kind of intelligence are one in a million.” Gradually, he grew up. Along with his age, his intelligence also increased significantly. Well, it’s only when you stand on your own feet and make a living independently that you gain respect among others. However, he didn’t like asking for a job. So, he thought deeply about what he should do.
In this world, there are very few intelligent people, but there are many who cannot think for themselves and rely on others’ advice to live. So, he decided to sell the advice and suggestions needed by such people at a reasonable price. Thus, he placed a signboard in front of his house saying, “Advice Sold Here.”
People passing by saw the sign and laughed, saying, “Look! A big smart guy has come. He’s going to sell advice.” But he didn’t care about them. When you want to do something new that no one else has done, insults and ridicule are normal. The one who can endure them and stand firm without turning back is the one who eventually achieves success. Two months passed in this way. Not a single person knocked on his door. Yet, he did not lose hope. He waited for an opportunity with confidence in his intelligence.
Around that village, there were many mango orchards. The mangoes were very sweet, and just putting one in your mouth would make you exclaim, “Ah! This is the kind of fruit we should eat.” Rich people from various places would come and buy the fruits at whatever price was asked. But that year, the mango farmers faced an unexpected problem. Parrots appeared out of nowhere, not just a few but thousands. No matter which orchard you looked at, there were parrots. They didn’t spare even the unripe fruits, starting to nibble at them. They ate less and spoiled more. The farmers, unable to figure out how to protect their orchards, were distressed and sleepless.
One farmer said, “Hey, there is a guy named Ranganna in our street. He is very smart. But he doesn’t give advice for free. Shall we go and ask him?” The others agreed, “Sure! Who knows what snake is in which hole? Let’s go and ask him. If we like his advice, we’ll pay him what he asks.” They all went together to Ranganna.
After listening to their problem, Ranganna thought deeply and said, “If each farmer places one gold coin in front of me, I’ll tell you a way to get rid of the parrot problem.” They all agreed and placed a gold coin each in front of him.
Then he said, “Go and tie small bells to the branches of the trees here and there. When the parrots land on the fruits or when the wind blows, the bells will ring. The noise will scare the parrots away from the place.”
Immediately, all the farmers tied bells to the branches of the mango trees as advised by Ranganna. When the bells rang, the parrots got scared and stopped coming near the mangoes. Thus, the farmers were relieved of the parrot problem. With this success, Ranganna’s name spread throughout the village. From then on, whenever anyone in the village faced a problem, they would rush to Ranganna for advice.
In a nearby village called Anandapuram, there was a rich man. He once came to Ranganna and said, “I have an only son. I raised him with great affection, never refusing him anything. But that was my biggest mistake. He has developed a huge appetite. He can’t stay without eating something. He eats a lot and does no work. As a result, he is growing fatter every day and is now three times his normal size. I can’t scold him, beat him, or stop him from eating. But if he continues to grow like this, he will definitely fall ill with various diseases at a young age. Please tell me if there is any way to make him lose weight.”
After thinking deeply, Ranganna whispered a plan into the rich man’s ear. The rich man agreed and the next day mixed some sleeping powder into his son’s favorite sweet, jalebi. After eating it, the boy felt drowsy and fell down wherever he was. This continued for a week. The boy started to feel scared, thinking something was seriously wrong with him. Then his father took him to Ranganna. Acting as if he was examining the boy, Ranganna said, “This boy won’t live more than two or three months.”
Hearing these words, the boy was shocked. Ranganna continued, “Look, you are already three times your normal weight. If you gain even one more kilo, you are inviting your own death. The sooner you lose weight, the better it is. Whether you live or die is in your hands. Think about it.”
In this world, no one wants to die soon, right? The boy was gripped by the fear of death. He started avoiding food and began walking four to five miles every day. After five or six months, he became slim and fit. Everyone praised Ranganna’s advice. Not only in that village but also in the surrounding areas, Ranganna’s name spread far and wide.
Far away from that village, there was a large kingdom called Kandanavolu. The king who ruled it was very good. Under his rule, the people lived happily and comfortably. However, a gang of thieves suddenly appeared out of nowhere in Kandanavolu. They started robbing houses every day. The people were scared to step out of their houses. The soldiers searched every street for the thieves but couldn’t catch even one. The robberies increased. The king called the chief officer and said, “Your job is to stop the robberies and make everyone live peacefully. But despite so many days, you and your soldiers haven’t caught a single thief. This is a disgrace not only to you but also to me as a king. The robberies must stop within a week. If not, you won’t have your head on your shoulders the next day.”
The chief officer didn’t know what to do. No matter how much they increased the patrol, they couldn’t catch the thieves. Then he heard about Ranganna, the advisor. He immediately went to Ranganna and explained everything, saying, “Please give me some good advice to stop these robberies. If not, I will surely die,” with tears in his eyes. Ranganna thought deeply and said, “Soldiers can guard a few houses. How many can they guard? While patrolling one street, thieves will rob another. Unless there is a soldier guarding every house, the thieves won’t stop. But no king has that many soldiers. So, do one thing,” and he explained what to do.
The chief officer immediately announced throughout the kingdom, “Whoever catches the thieves will be given a reward of one hundred thousand gold coins and a high position in the king’s court.” One hundred thousand gold coins is no joke. Plus, a high position in the king’s court. So, everyone started searching for the thieves with sticks as soon as it got dark. Every street was full of people. The thieves couldn’t even step outside. They thought if they stayed in the village for a few more days, they would surely get caught and decided to leave the village quietly. Thus, from that day on, not a single robbery happened. The king was very happy and praised the chief officer. The chief officer said, “Your Majesty! This is not my greatness. It is the advice of Ranganna in our village.” He explained everything honestly. Ranganna’s name spread throughout the royal palace.
Near Kandanavolu, a large river flowed along the borders. Far across that river was a large city called Avantipuram. Its king was Gajasimha. He had a great desire to conquer the entire world. So, he started attacking one king after another, destroying their forts and imprisoning everyone. His eyes fell on Kandanavolu. He gathered thousands of soldiers with large weapons and set out. The king of Kandanavolu learned about this. His soldiers and weapons were very few. If defeated, the entire city would be destroyed. The people would be imprisoned and suffer greatly. The king thought hard about how to protect his city. Then he remembered the advice of Ranganna, suggested by the chief officer.
“Who knows what snake is in which hole. Go and bring Ranganna here. Let’s see if he can give us any advice to get out of this danger,” he said.
The chief officer went and brought Ranganna. After listening to everything, Ranganna asked, “King, how many cannons do you have?” The king replied, “Not many. There might be thirty or forty.” “King, in war, victory or defeat depends more on the strength of cannons than on the number of soldiers. Gajasimha has more than a hundred large cannons. With those, he can break any strong fort. Soldiers cannot withstand the bomb attacks and get scattered. That’s how they are easily winning. So, we need to bring more cannons to the battlefield than them. Only then will we win,” said Ranganna.
“Making so many cannons immediately is impossible. Give another piece of advice,” said the king.
Ranganna smiled and said, “King, making real cannons out of iron is indeed impossible now. But making large fake cannons out of cardboard and wood and painting them black to look like real cannons isn’t that hard. What do you think?”
“Making fake cannons is easy. But what use will they be?” asked the chief officer.
“Nothing. We need to spread a rumor that we are making many cannons and also deploy them all along the banks of the river. Avantipuram’s soldiers should not know they are fake. They should believe they are real and be scared. That’s the point. Our soldiers must also act bravely. That’s it,” said Ranganna.
The king followed his advice. Immediately, many cannons were made and deployed along the riverbank. When Avantipuram’s army reached the riverbank, they saw thousands of large cannons and were scared. When soldiers see so many cannons, their courage naturally diminishes. They thought, “If the cannons start firing, we will be shattered.” They informed Gajasimha about this. He came and saw it himself. Even he didn’t understand that they were fake cannons. “Let’s stop here today and attack at dawn tomorrow,” he thought. He set up camp at the riverbank and sent spies to the city.
By then, Ranganna went to the city and told the king, “King, I will take some gold coins and go to the enemy camp tonight. I will bribe Gajasimha’s soldiers to cut the ropes of all the boats we have and let them flow downstream. Tomorrow morning, Gajasimha will not have a single boat to cross the river.”
As planned, he bribed some soldiers with gold coins and got all the boats untied. The next morning, Gajasimha saw that there were no boats to cross the river. He ordered some soldiers to swim and go, but Ranganna had placed many sharp bamboo stakes along the riverbank. When they swam and went, their bodies were pierced and they died. So, swimming and crossing was impossible.
Gajasimha thought hard and said, “What is this? I have been winning everywhere. But in this small city of Kandanavolu, I am facing so many troubles. Let it be. Let’s withdraw the army.” Thus, Gajasimha’s army returned to Avantipuram. Ranganna received great honor and many riches from the king. From then on, the people in Kandanavolu lived happily.
So, kids, did you see how intelligence is valued more than strength? Just as Ranganna became famous as the advisor, you too should become famous by using your intelligence and making a name for yourselves.