The Mice That Ate Iron
Panchatantra
Before travelling abroad, a merchant named Naduk left his heavy ancestral balance beam with Merchant Lakshman.
When Naduk returned, Lakshman did not want to give it back. “I am sorry,” he said, “but mice ate the iron beam.”
Naduk knew this was impossible, yet he remained calm. He invited Lakshman and his son to walk with him to the riverside market.
On the way, Naduk arranged for the boy to wait safely with a trusted potter. When Lakshman asked where his son was, Naduk replied, “A hawk carried him away.”
“A hawk cannot carry a boy!” Lakshman cried.
“And mice cannot eat a great iron beam,” Naduk answered.
They took the dispute to the magistrates. After hearing both impossible claims, the magistrates understood the lesson.
Lakshman admitted that he had kept the beam. He returned it, and Naduk immediately brought the boy back from the potter’s home.
No one had been harmed. Lakshman apologized, and the magistrates reminded them that honesty would have solved the matter without tricks.
“An impossible excuse is often exposed by another excuse just like it.”