One day a horse trader, a foreigner, came to the court of Krishnadeva Raya and told him he had some fine horses for sale. The emperor offered to buy them. The man took an advance of

 

One day, a horse trader, a foreigner, came to the court of Krishnadeva Raya and told him he had some fine horses for sale.

The emperor, a great admirer of horses, was immediately interested.

The trader showed him one of his finest horses, and Krishnadeva Raya was so impressed that he decided to buy twenty more.

The man took an advance of a thousand gold coins and promised to return in a month with the rest of the horses.

The emperor agreed, and the trader left with the money.

A month passed.

Then another.

Then three more.

The horse trader never returned.

The emperor, furious at being cheated, called upon his trusted advisor, Tenali Rama.

"Tenali, I want that scoundrel found and punished!"

Tenali Rama thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Your Majesty, let’s catch another one like him."

The emperor raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Tenali explained his plan.

A few weeks later, another trader came to the court, claiming to have even better horses.

Krishnadeva Raya, pretending to be excited, said, "Wonderful! I’ll buy fifty this time!"

The trader’s eyes gleamed with greed.

The emperor continued, "But since my last deal went badly, I will only give an advance of five gold coins."

The trader looked disappointed.

Then Tenali Rama stepped forward and added, "Don’t worry, sir! Once you return with the horses, we’ll pay you double!"

The trader frowned.

He hesitated.

Then he said, "Uh… actually… I just remembered… my horses got sick. I won’t be able to sell them after all."

And just like that, he ran away.

The emperor laughed loudly.

"Tenali, you just saved me another thousand gold coins!"

Tenali Rama grinned. "Your Majesty, sometimes the best way to catch a thief… is to dangle a bigger bag of gold."

From that day on, Krishnadeva Raya never gave advances for anything.

And as for the first horse trader? Legend says he’s still galloping away with the emperor’s money.