There was a famous king called Prasenajit.

He was the king of Sravasti.

Sravasti is in Uttar Pradesh.

Sravasti also used to be the capital of the great kingdom of Kosala in which our dear Lord Sri Rama was born.

Prasenajit was a very good ruler and also very smart.

Once, a poor old man came to Sravasti.

He found his luck in Sravasti.

Through hard work, he earned and saved a thousand gold coins.

He went to the forest, dug a hole and hid his treasure in it.

Every day, he would go there to ensure that his treasure was safe.

But he also made sure that nobody followed him or knew about this.

One day, when he went to the forest to check, he realized that it was gone.

His heart was broken.

He didn’t know what to do.

That was all that he had.

He came back into the city crying out loud about his bad fate and began jumping into the river.

He didn’t want to live anymore.

King Pransenajit was taking rounds and he saw a man trying to jump into the river.

He stopped him and asked him what happened.

The man said: all my life’s savings have been stolen.

There is no use of me living anymore.

King said: don’t worry.

I will get back to you your treasure.

I will have the thief caught or if that doesn’t happen I will give you your coins from the kingdom’s treasury.

I will not allow anyone to suffer in my kingdom.

Now, tell me in detail about what happened.

The man narrated how he came to Sravasti, worked hard, earned a thousand gold coins and hid them in the forest.

The king asked him: agreed that you had hidden the treasure in the forest and used to go there every day, but how did you identify the place?

The man said: there was a plant of wild cucumber very close to where I had hidden my coins.

But then, there could be many such plants in the forest.

No, that was the only one, I am sure said the man.

But now even that cucumber plant has disappeared from there.

King Prasenajit went back to the palace, lied down on the bed, and told his ministers that he was sick.

Call each and every doctor in the kingdom.

I will first find out who is good and then get myself treated.

So all the doctors were called and they lined up outside the king’s chamber.

He called them one by one, and asked each one of them: who are your recent patients, how did you treat them?

Those days, doctors used to treat based on Ayurveda.

One of them said: I had a patient yesterday with a severe stomachache and I treated him with the juice of wild cucumber.

Oh! where did you get wild cucumber from?

I don’t know your majesty, my assistant got it.

The assistant was called in.

The king asked him: did you get the wild cucumber yesterday for him?

Yes, your majesty.

Where did you get it?

From the forest.

Now, tell me quickly where are the gold coins.

The assistant was shocked.

They are at my house, he said.

They belong to this old man, bring them here and return them to him.

The assistant obeyed the king's order.

The old man got his treasure back and he became happy.

Everyone wondered, how did the king find out who had taken the gold coins?

King Prasenajit said: this is called the power of deduction.

The old man always made sure that nobody saw him going near his treasure.

If someone had followed him, seen the treasure and taken it, then the cucumber plant should have been still there.

Why should a thief of gold take away a cucumber plant?

Or even if he had accidentally dug the plant, he would not have taken it with him.

So it must have been someone who came looking for a wild cucumber plant and while digging out the plant he must have accidentally discovered the hidden treasure.

Now who else but a doctor would need a wild cucumber plant?

It is only used as medicine, it is not eaten like the normal cucumber.

That’s why I called all the doctors and enquired.

Every one became impressed by the king’s intelligence and sense of justice.

It is not a surprise that in a kingdom ruled by such an intelligent and just ruler everyone lived happily and peacefully.