A team from India went shooting on location
in Syracuse, in the picturesque island of Sicily.
Among the team was Hindi actress Rekha.
They were invited to the palace and King Heiron
hosted a great banquet in their honour.
After the banquet was over, and the guests had
dispersed, came a great hue and cry
that the King's new crown was missing.
Soldiers were sent out with pikes and halberds,
to find the daring thief who had stolen the King's crown.
Sight-seeing and window-shopping,
Rekha was strolling along, when suddenly a man,
in a hurry, came running along. He thrust a parcel
into Rekha's hands and disappeared. Behind him
appeared a party of pikemen in hot pursuit.
Not wishing to be caught with the goods, in confusion,
Rekha ducked into the first open doorway. She opened
the parcel and, lo and behold, it was the King's lost crown.
Though it looked massive, it was, strangely, quite light.
A close examination of the crown told her the reason:
it was made of lightweight plastic and the gold was just a
thin covering. No wonder the King was anxious to get it back.
He was afraid of anybody finding out that he was reduced to
wearing an imitation crown.
She looked around. She was standing in a bath-house.
She threw the fake crown into a filled bath and turned to go.
But then, she heard her name called. It was Archimedes,
a philosopher she had been introduced to at the banquet.
He pointed an accusing finger at her. "You...Rekha! You
stole
the crown!" "But wait! I didn't, and anyway, this crown
is a fake!" cried Rekha. But already, the philosopher had
reached the door.
In desperation, Rekha clutched at Archimedes, in an effort
to hold him back. There was a r-r-rip and his bathrobe
came away.
And that is why, the history books say, the great philosopher
Archimedes streaked through the street, shouting
"Rekha".
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