6
An artist promised to paint the king’s favorite horse ‘exactly’ in fifteen days, failed spectacularly, and despaired. Tenali met the deadline in a single stroke.
Tenali asked the artist to saddle the horse at dawn. He led the animal to a white wall, dipped a brush in ash, and invited the horse to breathe. The warm, foggy plume kissed the wall as a perfect silhouette. Tenali then drew a single line for the bridle. “There,” he said. “Exact, alive, and on time. We don’t need every hair; we need the spirit that collects them.” The king paid both men—the artist for humility, Tenali for interpretation.
