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"HOW I LOOK AT MYSELF!" (1)
The king was also nottled beyond measure, his brows clouded. He immediately summoned his court and when Birbal arrived, he did not once glance in his direction and showed no awareness of his presence. Birbal immcdiatcly understood what had transpired. Those clouded cyebrows plainly told thcir talc. But he quietly took his place. After some time the king's curiosity overtook his temper and hic addressed himself to Birbal thus:
"You're guilty of a great crime!" "I'm not guilty of any crimc, Your Majesty!" said Birbal. "What did you say when the queen was leaving?" "Nothing. whatever."
"But did you not say to the servant, "Wash this spot clean of all profanity -- it's unhallowed by the touch of a Turkish slut!"
"That, I did say. I remember now." "But why did you? And how dare you!" "Well, I had to provide you with a proof." "What prool? What are you talking about?"
"Your Majesty has quite sorgotten. Don't you remember saying, *How can the tonguc bc swect or sour?' and you wanted me to prove it. Now scc how my tonguc set at naught all my great preparations and hospitality. What prodigious amount of effort and moncy I pu in to provide that 'excellent' dinner to the queen - an equivalent of my whole year's salary! I've gonc bankrupt, and yet all my effort was of little avail. You only remember what my tongue uttered; cvcrything else is quite ignored. Well, you know now how delectably sweet or how terribly bitter the human tonguc can be!" The king sat montionless and still.
The tongue is swcct; it can also be bitter. This truth applies to the wholc of our lisc. Freedom is most sweet. A dry crust of bread lastes swcct in freedom; whicrcas in a state of slavery, the most cxquisitely prepared viands tastc slat, even poisonous.
But most of us have no dircct cxpcricncc of sweetness. Only yesterday I said to a young camper, "Do not take your chapatis with cooked vegetables, if you want to know the real flavour of wheat. brcad." Thosc who cat their brcad with spiced preparations, can never know the real taste of wlicat. All that they know or can know is the taste of salt or sugar; they do not and cannot know the true taste of wheat-bread or thc vcgctables. What do we really know of the taste of ribbed gourd or of cucumber, for instance? Their sovereign laste is quite supplanted by that of salt and chillies in profusion.
Freedom has its own uniquc flavour, but the freedom that we know is overlaid in profusion with spiccs of slavery, so much so that we never expericncc true freedom. Only the man who has tasted wheatbread in itsell, unmixed with the spiced victuals, knows how sweet
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