What were the circumstances that led to the narrator telling a story to Sai Baba?

The event occurred in the midst of the Aarti. Madhavrao, also known as Shama, brought the narrator and had him sit directly facing Baba. As described in Chapter 19, Baba, the jewel among saints, initiated the conversation by asking what Dakshina Shama had brought and then specifically inquired about what they had been talking about. Despite the loud sounds of the Aarti, the narrator was filled with supreme bliss and was eager to tell the story, and Baba leaned forward with great eagerness to hear it.