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TENALI RAMAKRISHNA
Half the Prize

There was a guard sporting big moustaches, near the main gate. He stopped Ramakrishna who was striding in and shouted at him, "You there! Who are you? You seem to think you're a big man, you don't have to ask for a permission to enter!"

Ramakrishna replied, I belong to the drama troupe, which just went in. You know they are staging a play before the king; I am a cowherd boy in it. Look at my churning stick."

Ramakrishna was trying to slip in -but the guard stopped him and said, "You have come so late. I will allow you only if you pay the penalty."

What could Ramakrishna offer? His ingenuity came to his rescue. Giving a display of a comic role before the guard, Ramakrishna said: "Look, I am a great jester. The king will  appreciate my performance and give me a special prize. I will share it with you, and then leave the palace. Agreed?

The guard asked: "Will you give half of what the king grants you?"

"Yes. Yes . . . . . certainly", replied Ramakrishna.

"Then, get in." So saying the guard let him in.

Full of joy Ramakrishna ran forward. But at the entrance to the Durbar Hall there was
another enemy! Another whiskered guard! And again an obstacle in Ramakrishna's
way.

Like the first guard, this guard, too, let in Ramakrishna after getting a promise from him to share half of what he got from the king!

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About Tenali Ramakrishna
Introduction
A Care-Free boy
The Boy's Yearning
'I Shall Get Education'
No, Not Even This
A Story
The Devotee Of Mother Kali
'Mother, It Occured To Me....'
A Cowherd
You are Here! Half The Prize
Ramakrishna In 'Krishna Leela'
The Comic Poet
A Scholar, The Enemy Of Vanity
The Scholar From Kashi Humbled
A Lesson To The Greedy
How Does The Water Appear..?
'Hide Your Head'
Ramakrishna And His Family
Humour Without Malice