Who Is The True Mother

A group of travellers came to Fatehpur Sikri and took shelter in a tavern. Among them were two pregnant women. That night both of them gave birth. One infant was male and another was female. Soon the male infant died. His mother started crying aloud. But when she saw that the girl child of her fellow traveller was still alive she exchanged hers with the other new born. The mother of the girl child was sleeping soundly at that time and did not realise that her child had been exchanged.

The next morning the mother of the girl child found a dead male infant lying beside her. She instantly understood that the child was not hers. She accused the woman for stealing her child. This resulted in a severe quarrel between the two women. Birbal investigated the matter. Then he called the two women with their infants.He asked the first woman who was actually the real mother of the girl child to throw the dead infant into the sewers. The woman swiftly carried the dead child and threw it into the sewer.

The other woman started crying and accused her by saying ,"How could you throw him into the water? You are also a mother. You could have arranged a proper burial place for him." Birbal then asked," If she has no problem in throwing the water, then she is the real mother.