Hard Riddles

Emperor Akbar once ruled over India. He was a wise and intelligent ruler, and he had in his court the Nine Gems, his nine advisors, who were each known for a particular skill. One of these Gems was Birbal, known for his wit and wisdom. The story below is one of the examples of his wit. Do you have it in you to find out the answer?

A farmer and his neighbour once went to Emperor Akbar’s court with a complaint.

“Your Majesty, I bought a well from him,” said the farmer pointing to his neighbour, “and now he wants me to pay for the water.”

“That’s right, your Majesty,” said the neighbour. “I sold him the well but not the water!” The Emperor asked Birbal to settle the dispute.

How did Birbal solve the dispute?

A bank is getting robbed and one of the robbers tells one of the tellers to give him all of the money. The teller tells him she doesn’t have access to it.

Suddenly the phone rings. The robber tells the teller to answer it and not give them away. She picks up the phone and it happens to be her mother. She tells her mother “Is this an emergency mom? Call me when I get home, I could use some help painting.” Then she hangs up.

The robbers continue to try to get into the vault but twenty minutes later the police show up with the tellers mom and arrest them all.

How did the police know about the robbery?