2. Introduction
“In the Kingdom of Fools” is a folktale that brings to
light the dangers posed by foolish people. It also
emphasizes the view that foolish people can be very
difficult to manage. They can be dealt with only by the
wise and calm people. The story is about a kingdom
where the king and the ministers are nothing but
fools. They reversed the order of the day and night and
punished anyone who violates the laws. A learned
Guru and his disciple arrive in the kingdom only to
find that everyone performed the chores after evening
and slept at night. After this a series of events follows
which lead to the downfall of the king and his minister
3. Title
“In the Kingdom of Fools” is a story about a kingdom
ruled by a foolish king and his silly minister. The
people too are foolish, for they obey the most
ridiculous orders passed by their king. The entire
action of the story takes place in this kingdom. The
reasons that make this place a Kingdom of Fools are
well exemplified by the episodes in which innocent
people are caught one after the other in the name of
justice.
4. Message
The story is a folktale and gives two messages. The first
message is that one should stay away from foolish
people; else one is bound to suffer. The second
message is that in order to tackle foolish people one
should employ wisdom and not logic. The guru does
not argue or reason the innocence of his disciple.
Rather he flatters the king and manages to convince
him that the new stake was lucky. He not only saves
the life of his disciple but also rids the kingdom of the
foolish king and his silly minister. In addition, he
becomes the next king and his disciple the next
minister.
6. SYNOPSIS
In the kingdom of fools the king and the minister were
idiots. They ordered all things to be reversed. They
decided to change night into day and day into night.
They ordered people to do day’s work in night and
sleep in the day. Anyone not obeying was to be
punished with death. So people out of fear did as they
were asked to do. This delighted the king and the
minister.
7. A guru and disciple see the city
Once a guru and his disciple arrived in the city. They
found everyone asleep during the r day. No activity was
observed. It amazed them. They wandered till evening.
Then the people woke up. They started doing their
nightly businesses. Now the two were hungry. They
bought some food items. The price of everything was
same, a single duddu. This surprised and delighted
them. The guru realized that it was really a kingdom of
fools
15. Guru leaves the city but disciple
remains behind
The guru decided to leave the city of fools. He asked
his disciple also to leave the place. But the disciple
didn’t want to do so for cheap food. The guru advised
the disciple that nothing could be predicted of fools.
But the disciple didn’t care. He remained behind. Time
passed on. The disciple ate to his fill. As a result, he
became very fat.
24. Guru’s Trick
The disciple remembered his guru who appeared at
once. They started fighting. Each wanted to be
executed first. The guru explained to the king whoever
die to the stake first would be reborn as the king of the
country.. Whoever die next would be reborn as the
minister. The king and the minister consulted and
decided to take their place. The king and the minister
were executed next morning. The Guru and disciple
were their new king and minister. They changed all old
foolish rules.
26. Meanings of words and phrases
till: raise crops by ploughing and
fertilizing
disciple: a follower or pupil of a teacher,
leader, or philosopher
sneaked : go or do something secretly
pursuing: carrying out some work
wrongdoer: a person who does things that
are immoral or illegal
27. compensate: to give someone something in
recognition of loss, suffering, or injury
accused: a person or group of people who are
charged with or on trial for a crime
plead: to argue a case or cause in a court of law
guilty: committed an offense, crime, violation, or
wrong, especially against moral
execution: legal punishment of killing someone
28. jingling: a light metallic ringing sound
complicated: difficult
distracted: unable to concentrate or give attention to
something
damned: a word used to express anger with someone
or something
culprit: a person responsible for a crime or other
misdeed
bailiffs: law officers
29. accusation: a statement saying that someone has
done something morally wrong, illegal, or unkind
impatient: someone who wants something to happen
as soon as possible
inherited: receive money, property, or possessions
from someone after the person has died
impaling: to kill someone by fixing on a stake
30. execution: legal punishment of killing someone
complicated: difficult
distracted: unable to concentrate or give attention to
something
evidence: something that makes a belief plain or
clear
vision: dream
31. scrape: a difficult situation caused by one’s own
unwise behaviour
clamour: a loud complaint about something or a
demand for something
mystery: something strange that has not yet been
explained or understood
ascetic: to avoid worldly pleasures and to live a
simple life
postponed: to delay something to a later date
32. promptly: with immediate effect
panicked: taken over by a sudden feeling of terror or
anxiety
mourned: feel or show sorrow for the death of
someone
persuade: to convince someone