One day a king stepped out of the gates of his palace and found a man standing there.<>
The man had a plump chicken in his hands.<>
On seeing the king he bowed respectfully and said: ‘Maharaj, I gambled in your name and won this chicken. It belongs to you. Please accept it.”<>
“Give it to my poultry keeper,” said the king.<>
A few days later the king saw the man standing outside the gates again.<>
This time he had a goat with him. “I won this goat in your name, Maharaj,” he said after saluting the ruler. “It belongs to you.”<>
The king was pleased.<>
“Give it to my goatkeeper,” he said.<>
Some weeks later the man was at the palace gates once again.<>
This time he had two men with him.<>
“I lost 500 varahas to each of these men while playing in your name, Maharaj,” said the man. “I have no money to pay them.”<>
The king realised he had made a mistake in accepting the man’s gifts on the previous occasions.<>
Now he could not refuse to help him. He paid off the two men and warned the gambler never to play in his name again.<>
