A thief’s son approached him one day and said, “I wish to learn the trade. I think I am old enough and man enough to do so.”
The thief looked at the young boy from head to foot, then simply shrugged and said, “Okay. Come with me tonight.”
Photo courtesy of woodleywonderworks, Flickr
That night, they sneaked into a large house. The thief saw a large cabinet in the corner, opened it and saw that it contained very little. He hissed at the boy and signaled him over. When the boy came, the father shoved him inside and slipped a broom between the door handles, effectively trapping him. Then he slipped silently out of the house.
The boy began to shout and bang on the door but he came to his senses and realized that the household must now be awake after hearing all the racket. He stayed quiet until he heard voices from outside the cabinet door. Then he began to mew like a cat.
A servant heard the sound and opened the cabinet. The boy immediately jumped out and the servant was silent in shock for a few seconds. He then called out “Stop, thief!” but the boy had already jumped out the window.
People stormed out of the house, hot and angry, pursuing the boy who dared break into the sanctity of their home. The boy rounded a dark corner and saw a well by the side. He lifted a nearby rock, threw it into the well, and hid beside some bushes.
The pursuers rounded the corner just in time to hear a loud splash coming from the well and they all gathered around it, to see if the boy drowned himself or to capture him if he came up. While they were all intent on the well, the boy quietly slipped out from behind the bush and headed home.
When he arrived, he was so excited from his near escape that he forgot his anger at his father for trapping him in the first place. He stumbled over his words as he began to recount the tale of his escape. However, his father placed a finger over the boy’s mouth and said, “There is no need to tell me the details, my son. You are here. You have learned the trade.”
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