The Verdict of King Kakille, one of the most famous funny folktales in Sinhalese folklore, comes with an idiom. This story centers around a foolish king who made a ridiculous judgment. If you are looking for funny folktales from around the world, idiom stories, bedtime stories for kids, or funny stories for kids, this would be a good choice. However, the story does mention some violent acts of punishment in historical times. Therefore, it will be best for parents to read the story beforehand before reading it to kids. Happy storytelling!
A long time ago, there was a beautiful and prosperous kingdom with all the natural resources. The king of this kingdom was called Kakille. Though the kingdom was prosperous due to its richness in natural resources and good, hardworking people, the king was famous for his stupidity.
On one unfortunate night, there was heavy rainfall. Due to the rain, a poor man’s house collapsed. Trapped under the debris, the wife and the child of this poor man died. The man lost everything in one night. He was so devastated. He thought the mason who built the house was the one to take the blame for his house collapsing. So he decided to complain about this injustice to the king.
The poor man who lost his house, wife, and child went to see the king. He bowed to the king and complained about what happened. Listening to the complaint, the king said, “It was your house that collapsed.” So you are responsible for the murder of your wife and the child. “You have killed two of my countrymen.” “By the authority I have, I order to end this man’s life by crushing the elephant,” the king ordered the court.
Listening to the king’s judgment, the poor man raised his accusation against the mason. “My king, I am not the one who is responsible for that. I lost my wife and my kid. And I don’t even have a home to keep their dead bodies. That is because the mason who built the house did not do his job well. If he had done his job well, the house would not have collapsed. If the house hadn’t collapsed, my wife and child could still be alive.”
The king was convinced by the argument made by the man. “You are absolutely right. I am happy to have smart people like you in my kingdom. I lift the punishment I enforced on this man. This man is innocent. Bring me the mason who built this man’s house,” the king ordered the public officers.
The officers went and accompanied the masons who built the house. The king presented the accusations to the mason and ordered the same punishment for him.
“My king, allow me to speak! I am not the one who is responsible for the collapse of this man’s house. The house was not strong because the mortar I was given to build it was not of good quality. It was more watery than expected. So, the man who mixed the mortar is the one to take responsibility, my king.” The mason replied to the king.
Listening to the mason’s explanation, the king thought the mason was right. So he lifted the punishment on the mason and ordered the officials to bring the man who mixed the mortar for this mason to him. The officials brought the person who mixed mortar for the mason to the king.
“You have killed two people in my kingdom and destroyed this man’s house and his family. Because you have given this mason mortar that is more watery than it should be. How do you plead?” the king said.
The man who mixed the mortar said, “Yes, my king, I accept that the mortar was watery. But that was not my fault, my king. The neck of the pot I used to add water to the mortar mix was too big. That is why more water was added by myself. So, the person who is responsible for this tragedy is the man who made that pot.”.
The king was convinced by the man’s explanation. So, he pronounced the man who mixed the mortar not guilty. Then he ordered the officials to bring him the potterymaker who made the pot with a big opening. The officials accompanied the pottery maker. Then the king introduced the accusations to the pottery maker.
Right away, the king announced the accusations to the potter. “This man’s house collapsed last night and his wife and the kid are under the debris. The house was not properly built by this mason because this man who mixed mortar gave mortar with more water than it should be to the mason. That was because the neck of the pot you made was bigger than usual. So, you are responsible for collapsing this man’s house and killing his wife and the child.”.
“My king, yes, the neck of that pot was bigger than usual. But that was not on me, my king. While I was making that pottery, a beautiful woman passed by in front of my workshop. I looked at her because she was pretty. That is why the neck of the pot got bigger. Therefore, the woman who went in front of me is the one who caused all of these problems. She is the one who is responsible for collapsing this man’s house and killing his wife and child, my king.” The pottery maker explained his reasons.
The king found the argument the pottery maker made to be correct. So he found the pottery maker not guilty of all the charges. Then he ordered the officials to bring him the beautiful woman who walked in front of the pottery maker’s workshop while he was making the pot. When the officials accompanied the lady to the king, the king announced the charges to the lady.
“Yes, my king. I went in front of this pottery workshop that day. But I had to get my king that day because the goldsmith in the town took my money to make me jewelry but he didn’t make it on time. So I had to go back another day to collect the jewelry. That second day was totally on the goldsmith, my king. If he had finished the job on time as promised, I wouldn’t have walked in front of this pottery maker that day. So, all of this disaster wouldn’t happen. I am not the one who is responsible for the crime; my king, the goldsmith, is.” The woman said she was innocent.
Then the king thought the woman was telling the truth and she was right. So, the king ordered the officials to bring him the goldsmith who did not work on time. Once the officials brought him in front of the court, the king announced all the charges.
“This man’s house collapsed last night in the rain and his wife and the child have died under the debris. That is because this mason built that man’s house of poor quality. The mason did that because this worker gave him mortar with more water than it should have. This worker added more water because the pot he used to add water to the mortar mix had a big mouth. The pot got a bigger mouth than it should have because this pottery maker was distracted by this beautiful woman who walked in front of him when he was making the pot.” While the king was announcing, the goldsmith was confused about where this was going.
“This lady walked in front of this pottery maker that day because you did not complete her pieces and gave them to her on the earlier day you promised you would give them. So, I find you guilty for collapsing this man’s house and murdering his wife and his kid. How do you plead?” The king asked the goldsmith.
Listening to this, the goldsmith said, “I am guilty as charged, my king. But you would punish me by crushing the elephant. My king, I am a skinny man. I have only the bones, not the flesh. So, the elephant’s foot will be hurt by my bones. Therefore, in my place, punish a man who is not skinny, a man who is fat, my lord.”
Listening to that, the king thought, Why should I hurt my elephant’s foot to punish a criminal? This man is right. I should find someone with flesh for the punishment. Then the king ordered the officials to find a man who was fat enough to be crucified by the elephant without hurting the elephant’s foot. The officials brought a merchant who had a huge tummy and a chubby look in front of the king. Then the king raised all the charges against that man and gave him the punishment.
An innocent man lost his life because of the foolish king. Even though a country is filled with natural resources and good, hardworking people, when the rulers or leaders are not smart, trouble comes to good people. So, when some injustice happens or when someone is doing a completely opposite or irrelevant thing instead of doing what is necessary, the Sinhalese say, “Kakille Rajjuruwange Nadu Theenduwa Wagey.” that means, “like the verdict of King Kakille. That was how the Idiom came into the world.