The palace was in chaos. The queen’s necklace was missing! Never before had something got lost in the palace, and King Shersingh was worried. Everyone in the palace was hunting for the necklace.

As everyone was rushing around searching, they heard someone singing. “The world is full of sorrow; find joy and love in Baba’s shelter.” 

The king looked outside to see a man in saffron robes standing at the palace gates. He had grey hair and a long grey beard, and there were beads around his neck. A helper stood behind him, beating a small drum and singing.

“Baba, the members of the palace are very disturbed today. Come back another time,” said the palace guard.

“There is no victory without loss, there is no love without loss. That’s why our king has to lose!” said the Baba, raising his hands towards the sky.

“That doesn’t make sense, Baba,” said the guard. “Our king never loses!”

King Shersingh heard all this and wanted to know what the man meant. He invited the Baba into the palace.

“The world craves victory while you are thinking about your loss,” said the Baba, blessing the king. “Tell me, is there a green dustbin in the palace?”

“Yes, there is,” replied Hira the Baboon, the palace chief of staff. “The dustbin outside the queen’s palace is green!”

“Be it garbage or gift, both are worthless to me,” the Baba said with a smile. 

He closed his eyes and chanted a mantra and said, “Take off its lid and the necklace you shall find.”

When the servants searched the bin at the King’s orders, they found the necklace in it. Everyone realised that the necklace must have fallen in the queen’s room and by mistake, it was swept and thrown in the bin along with the garbage.

Now, King Shersingh was convinced of Baba’s magical powers. He decided to reward the Baba, but he refused, saying he needed nothing. King Shersingh rewarded the Baba’s helper instead. When the two got ready to leave, the king asked them to stay for a few days. After much thought, the Baba agreed.

Two days later, King Shersingh’s son went missing. Nobody could find him anywhere in the palace. The worried king went to the Baba for help. 

“Baba, my son is missing. Please find him with your magical powers,” the king asked with folded hands. 

“He is not just your son, he is the future king; he is sleeping in your garden while you are looking everywhere else,” said the Baba, stretching out his arms.

King Shersingh rushed to the garden to see the prince sleeping peacefully! 

After this, King Shersingh had complete faith in the Baba. He started taking his advice on the kingdom and followed the Baba blindly. His minister, Blacky the Bear warned him about trusting the Baba too much, but King Shersingh did not pay attention to his warnings.

Soon, everyone knew that the King did everything in consultation with the Baba, and the ministers too started taking the Baba’s advice. This made the Baba even more powerful and he was always surrounded by animals.

One day, when alone with King Shersingh, the Baba said, “You are sent to this world to do something big. There is just one thing that is keeping you from doing that.”

“What is that? Please tell me and I will definitely try to overcome it,” said King Shersingh. 

“You are more powerful than an elephant, muscular than a cheetah, smarter than a chimpanzee and you can run faster than a deer. But you lack in one thing and you will never be able to overcome it,” said Baba.

“Tell me what it is and I’ll do everything I can to overcome it,” said the king.

“Your ability to smell is very weak,” said Baba.

“Yes, I agree. What can I do to overcome this weakness?” asked King Shersingh. 

“You have to acquire the powers of a dog,” replied Baba.

“The powers of a dog?” King Shersingh repeated, shocked.

“Yes, a dog’s ability to smell is the most powerful in the world. If you acquire that power, not only will you become the world’s most powerful being, you will live forever too,” Baba explained.

“Alright! I will call for a lot of dogs today and snatch their powers,” King Shersingh said.

“Powers can never be snatched, you have to acquire them,” Baba laughed. “To acquire those powers, you have to concentrate.”

“What kind of concentration?” asked King Shersingh.

“Every day after your bath in the morning, you have to sit on the palace roof with your eyes closed and pray for an hour. After that, you have to bark like a dog for half an hour.”

“Bark like a dog?” King Shersingh repeated in shock.

“Yes, if you concentrate like this, you will have the power of a dog in a few days. After that, you will become the world’s most powerful being and will live forever,” Baba explained.

King Shersingh felt awkward and embarrassed to sit on the roof and bark like a dog, but his faith in the Baba and his desire to live forever made him forget these feelings. 

Baba advised him not to tell anyone why he was barking as that will make his powers disappear. 

Next morning, King Shersingh sat down to concentrate. After an hour, he began barking like a dog. Everyone was shocked, but King Shersingh did not stop. Despite everyone talking about him, the king continued barking every day for half an hour.

This went on for some weeks, and made the citizens of the jungle unhappy. They didn’t want to be ruled by a barking king! 

Minister Blacky got to know of this. He too was unhappy about the king’s behaviour and was sure the Baba was responsible. He did not believe in the Baba’s magical powers and was sure he was a fake person.

After some thought, Minister Blacky went to the Baba. “Baba, our king has gone mad and he has started to behave like a dog. The people of the kingdom want him to be replaced by a new king.”

The Baba thought for a while. “You are right. If the ruler of a kingdom goes mad, it is only correct to choose a new king.” 

“The people of the kingdom trust you and they will agree to make whoever you choose to be the king. Do you have someone in mind?” asked Minister Blacky.

“The candidate is right in front of you,” said Baba, raising his hands in the air.

“What do you mean?” asked Minister Blacky with surprise.

“If you help me become the king, I will make you my Prime Minister and reward you well,” said Baba.

“It is you who shall get a reward from me,” roared King Shersingh, leaping towards the Baba and holding him by the neck. Minister Blacky had asked the King to hide behind the door and listen.

“You were trying to be the king while suggesting I should be barking. I will teach you a lesson today,” King Shersingh threw him high in the air.

As the Baba fell, his grey hair flew off. It was a wig! Minister Blacky pulled his beard and that came off too. The Baba was actually Baddy the Fox!

Baddy was a known crook, and King Shersingh had thrown him out of the kingdom a year ago. Baddy had come back to take revenge. He admitted that his helper Laptu the Jackal had been working in the palace for months before and had hidden the queen’s necklace and the prince. Baddy had pretended to find them with his magic. 

A furious King Shersingh sent Baddy and Laptu to jail. He promised Minister Blacky that he would no longer follow fake people and take their advice instead.