Two Clever Charlatans Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

Two weavers, the best of cheats,
To perform their brainless feats,
In His Majesty's Court, long ago,
Stood before a king for a show.

Clever charlatans were the two,
And the king believed them too,
That garments seen never before,
They would weave for his wear.

The king ordered the minister,
Who smelt their design sinister,
They be located in privacy,
Just to make their work easy.

Time passed, but not a fabric
Came out of their cunning trick.
They told the king, only wise,
Could see it with their eyes.

Not to be taken as a fool,
The king in a manner cool,
It was so nice, he praised
At their hands, empty they raised.

The king said, it was wonderful,
Followed by others, as delightful,
As none wished to be called a fool,
The truth, they were afraid to tell.

To the minister, it was unbearable
O'er their trick, no more tolerable
He whispered into the king's ears
A solution that got rid of his fears.

The king imprisoned them both,
So they remained henceforth
Under his personal command
To serve his future demand.

The tip, as none could guess,
What the minister gave was,
'No other king takes them both
To fabricate such a nice cloth'.