Question 1:
What are the two strange things the guru and his disciple find in the Kingdom of Fools ?
Or
How was the Kingdom of Fools different from other places ?
Answer:
The people in this kingdom do all their work at night. They sleep during daytime. Everything in this kingdom costs the same — a single duddu. It does not matter what or how much one buys. The cost is always the same — one duddu.
Question 2:
Why does the disciple decide to stay in the Kingdom of Fools ? Is it a good idea ?
Answer:
The disciple finds everything cheap in the Kingdom of Fools. He only wants good and cheap
food.
That is why he decides to stay here. But it is not a good idea. It is never wise to live
among fools.
It can always get one into trouble.
Question 3:
Name all the people who are tried in the king’s court, and give the reasons for their trial.
Answer:
The rich merchant, the bricklayer, the dancing girl and the goldsmith are all tried in the
king’s court.
The merchant says that the wall fell due to the bricklayer’s fault. He had not built it
right. The
bricklayer says that he had been distracted by a dancing girl. She kept walking up and down
the street
that day with her jingling anklets. The dancing girl says it was the goldsmith’s fault. She
wanted her
jewellery from the goldsmith. But he made her walk up and down his house many times. The
goldsmith
says that he had to attend to the merchant’s orders first because there was a wedding in the
merchant’s
house. And the merchant was not ready to wait. Thus each one blames the other.
Question 4:
Who is the real culprit, according to the king ? How does he escape punishment ?
Answer:
According to the king, the rich merchant is the real culprit. He orders to put the merchant to the stake. But the merchant seems too thin to be impaled properly. So another one, who is fat enough, is found in his place.
Question 5:
What are the guru’s words of wisdom ? When does the disciple remember them ?
Answer:
The guru had said it was not safe to live in the city of fools. Fools could do any foolish thing at any time. The disciple remembered the guru’s words when he was waiting for death. The foolish king had ordered to put him to the stake.
Question 6:
How does the guru manage to save his disciple’s life ?
Answer:
The guru asks the king to put him to stake first. But the disciple says he wants to die first. At this, the king asks the guru why he wants to die first. The guru tells the king that he who dies first will become the king in the next life. One who dies later will become the minister. The foolish king and his foolish minister believe the guru’s words. They get themselves executed. Thus the guru saves his disciple.
Question 7:
What things were different in the Kingdom of Fools ?
Answer:
In the Kingdom of Fools, the people did all their work at night. They slept during daytime. Everything cost the same there — a single duddu.
Question 8:
Why did the guru want to leave this kingdom quickly ? Why did the disciple stay on ?
Answer:
The guru did not think it wise to stay in a kingdom of fools. But the disciple stayed on because everything was cheap there. All he wanted was good and cheap food.
Question 9:
What was foolish about the king’s trial of the merchant ?
Answer:
The merchant’s wall had fallen upon a thief. The thief was killed. So the king ordered to execute the merchant. This judgement of the king was very foolish.
Question 10:
Who was finally blamed for the crime and why ?
Answer:
The rich merchant was blamed. His father had ordered the jewellery. But he was now dead. So the merchant was to be punished in his father’s place.
Question 11:
Now justice had come full circle, thought the king. What argument did the merchant come up with ? What counter argument did the king give ?
Answer:
The merchant argued that his father had ordered the jewellery. Therefore, he (merchant) was
innocent.
The king said that the merchant had inherited the riches as well as the sins of his father.
Question 12:
What appeal did the minister make to the king ?
Answer:
When a new stake was ordered to be made ready for the execution, it occurred to the minister that the rich merchant was too thin to be executed properly on the stake. The minister appealed this matter to the king’s common sense.
Question 13:
Why was it decided to execute the disciple ?
Answer:
The rich man was too thin to be executed properly on the stake. A fat man was needed for this. So the disciple was chosen to be executed.
Question 14:
How did the kingdom become normal again ?
Answer:
The people requested the guru and the disciple to be their king and minister. They finally agreed and changed all the old laws. Thus the kingdom became normal again.
Question 15:
What did the dancing girl say in her defence ?
Answer:
The dancing girl said that she had given some gold to the goldsmith to make some jewellery. The goldsmith made many excuses. So she had to walk up and down his house many times.
Question 16:
How did the guru come to know that his disciple was in trouble ?
Answer:
The guru had magical powers. He saw in a vision that his disciple was in trouble.
Question 17:
What did the king and his minister do at night ?
Answer:
At night, the king and his minister went secretly to the prison. They released the guru and the disciple and disguised themselves as the two. Then they got themselves executed.
Question 18:
How did the guru and his disciple become the king and the minister of the kingdom ?
Answer:
The guru knew that the king and his minister were fools. He said that the first one to be executed at the stake would become the king in the next life and the second one to be executed would be the king’s minister. The foolish king and his minister got themselves executed. The foolish people of the kingdom caught the guru and the disciple. They made them their king and minister.