In the classic tale, a poor man stands all night beside a freezing river to earn a reward promised by Emperor Akbar. But when he succeeds, Akbar accuses him of “warming himself with a distant palace light,” calling it unfair help. Birbal then cooks khichdi by hanging a pot high above a tiny fire, and when Akbar protests that the dish can never cook from such a distance, Birbal points out the irony—just as the pot cannot heat from afar, the man could not have warmed himself with a faint, distant glow. Realizing his mistake, Akbar rewards the man and learns a lesson about fairness and empathy.