Once upon a time, in a little village, lived a man named Harisarman. He wasn’t very rich or smart, and he didn’t have a job. He had lots and lots of kids, maybe because of something he did in a past life! He walked around, asking for food with his family. One day, they got to a big city and he started working for a rich man named Sthuladatta. His sons took care of Sthuladatta’s cows and other animals, his wife helped with the housework, and Harisarman helped out around the house too. One day, Sthuladatta’s daughter was getting married, and there was a big party with lots of friends and people having fun. Harisarman hoped he could eat yummy food like melted butter, meat, and other treats, and even bring some home for his family. But while everyone was having fun, nobody remembered to give Harisarman any food!

Harisarman was sad because he didn’t get any food. That night, he told his wife, “I think people don’t respect me because I’m not rich or clever. So, I’m going to pretend I know magic! Then Sthuladatta will think I’m important. When you get a chance, tell him I can do magic.” After thinking about it, he waited until everyone was asleep and then he took a horse from Sthuladatta’s house. It was the horse that Sthuladatta’s daughter’s husband rode. He hid the horse far away.

The next morning, the bridegroom’s friends couldn’t find the horse anywhere! Sthuladatta was worried because he thought it was a bad sign. He looked everywhere for the horse thieves. That’s when Harisarman’s wife came to him and said, “My husband is very wise! He knows about stars and magic. He can get the horse back for you! Why don’t you ask him?” When Sthuladatta heard that, he called Harisarman. Harisarman said, “Yesterday, nobody cared about me. But now that the horse is gone, you need me!” Sthuladatta said, “I’m sorry I forgot about you! Please forgive me!” Then he asked Harisarman to find out who took the horse. Harisarman pretended to draw magic pictures and said, “The thieves hid the horse south of here, near the edge of town. It’s hidden there now, but they’re going to move it soon! Go quickly and get it!” When the men heard that, they ran and found the horse. They were amazed at how clever Harisarman was! After that, everyone thought Harisarman was a wise man, and Sthuladatta treated him like a VIP, and he was happy.

Now, as time went by, someone stole lots of gold and jewels from the King’s palace! Nobody knew who did it. Because everyone thought Harisarman was a magic expert, the King called him to the palace right away. Harisarman wanted more time to think, so he said, “I’ll tell you tomorrow.” The King put him in a room and had guards watch him carefully. Harisarman was worried because he didn’t really know magic! In the palace, there was a maid named Jihva (which means Tongue). She and her brother had stolen the treasure from inside the palace. Jihva was scared because she thought Harisarman knew about her. So, at night, she listened at his door to see what he was doing.

Harisarman was alone and blaming his own tongue for pretending to know magic. He said, “Oh, Tongue! Why did you do this? You’re going to get me in trouble!” When Jihva heard that, she thought the wise man had discovered her! She snuck into his room and fell at his feet. She said, “Please don’t hurt me! I’m Jihva, and I stole the treasure! I buried it in the garden behind the palace, under a pomegranate tree. Please don’t tell on me! I’ll give you the gold I have left.”

When Harisarman heard that, he said in a loud voice, “I know all of this! I know everything! But I won’t tell on you because you asked me to protect you. But you have to give me all the gold you have left!” The maid agreed and ran away quickly. Harisarman was surprised. He thought, “Wow! I can’t believe this is happening! Just when things were looking bad, I got lucky! I was blaming my tongue, and the thief Jihva showed up! Secrets always come out because people get scared!” He slept well in the room that night. The next morning, he pretended to know magic and led the King to the garden. He pointed to the treasure buried under the pomegranate tree and said that the thief ran away with some of it.

The King was happy and gave him lots of villages!

But the King’s advisor, Devajnanin, whispered in his ear, “Nobody knows that much without studying magic books! He’s probably tricking us and working with the thieves! We should test him with a new trick!” So, the King brought a covered jar. He had put a frog inside! He said to Harisarman, “If you can guess what’s in this jar, I’ll give you a big reward!” Harisarman thought this was the end of him! He remembered his dad used to call him “Froggie” when he was a kid. He felt sad and said to himself, “This is a fine jar for you, Froggie! You’re going to be stuck in there forever!” When the people heard him say that, they clapped and cheered! They said, “He’s a great wise man! He even knows about the frog!” The King thought Harisarman knew everything because of his magic. He was very happy and gave Harisarman even more villages, gold, a fancy umbrella, and carriages! And that’s how Harisarman became rich and successful!