The Thieves and The Well is another one of Tenali Raman’s brilliant stories. It teaches kids a valuable lesson. Tenali Raman’s wit, as well as his way of teaching lessons, is evident in the story. One day the just King Krishnadevaraya was surveying his prison. There he found two prisoners who begged for his mercy. The prisoners told him that they were expert burglars and they could help the King catch other burglars. Krishnadevaraya was a kind and understanding King. He said to them that he would release them and make them his spies on one condition. First, they had to break into the Tenali Raman house and steal all his valuables. The expert thieves agreed to this readily.

That night the thieves went to Tenali Raman house and hid behind some bushes. Tenali Raman was strolling through his garden and heard a rustling in the bushes. He knew that there were thieves in his garden. He went inside and told his wife loudly to be careful about all valuables as two thieves were on the run. Tenali Raman told her to put all her jewellery and valuables in a box. The thieves who were hiding in the bushes overheard this conversation. After some time, Tenali Raman took the trunk and carried to his backyard. He threw it into the well.

As soon as Tenali Rama went to his house, the thieves went to the well and started drawing water. They fetched the water for the whole night only to discover the trunk in the water by morning. They happily open the trunk only to find stones in it. Tenali Raman came out and thanked the thieves for giving him a good night sleep and for watering his garden plants. The thieves knew that Tenali Raman had played the game on them and apologized to him.

Moral of the story : It reminds us that we should never listen to false claims.