The Magical Wells

Once, the emperor appointed a minister to build new wells in the kingdom and gave him a lot of money for this purpose. Some time later, the project was finished, and the emperor went to inspect the wells. The minister showed him the newly-built wells, and the emperor was satisfied. 

But some people complained to Tenali Rama that the minister hadn't built wells in their villages and had pocketed the money instead. Rama promised to look into this. 

The next day, Rama addressed the emperor and said, "The new wells are magical, Your Majesty. They appear and disappear as per their whims and fancies. You really ought to see them again."

The emperor understood what Rama meant and decided to inspect the wells once more. This time, he went to a remote village and saw that it had no wells. Furious, he summoned the minister and ordered him to build wells in the villages that had been left out using the money he had embezzled.