A Shorter Line

One day Akbar drew a line with his royal hand on the floor of the open court and told his wise men that if they wanted to keep heir jobs they must make the line shorter without touching any part of it.

Wise man after wise man approached and stood staring at the puzzle, but they were unable to solve the problem.

Finally Birbal stepped forward and drew a longer line next to the first one, without touching the first line.

Everyone in the court look at it and agreed. The first line was definitely shorter.