The Tale of the Thief

Once upon a time, there lived a king. The king had a servant who was very clever and knew his job well. One day, the servant thought to himself, "Why not learn another trade?" He pondered, searched, and finally chose theft. He would leave his hat in the king's chambers, then sneak in and steal it back. The king noticed him stealing the hat and called him over.

"Hey, lad, what are you doing there?" the king asked.
"Your Majesty," replied the servant, "I have learned to serve you well, and now I wish to learn how to steal."
"Very well," said the king, "I have a white horse. If you can steal it, you'll get two thousand coins. If you fail, I'll have your head."
"Very good," said the thief.

The king ordered the horse to be placed in the stable, with one man sitting on it, another holding the reins, and a third guarding the door.

That night, the thief got up, took some food and a jug of vodka, and brought it to the guards.
"The king sent this for you. Have a meal and a drink so you don't fall asleep," he said.
The guard at the door fell asleep standing up, the one holding the reins collapsed with the reins in his hands, and the one on the horse dozed off in the saddle.

The thief removed the reins, pulled the rider off the horse along with the saddle, mounted the horse, and rode away. In the morning, the king entered the stable and found the horse gone. He called the thief and gave him two thousand coins. The thief brought the horse back.

The king said to him, "I have some black oxen. If you can steal them, you'll get three thousand coins. If not, I'll have your head."
"Very well," said the thief.

The oxen were guarded by shepherds in the mountains. The thief took a pair of boots, smeared one in mud, and left the other clean. He threw the muddy boot on the path where the shepherds led the oxen to drink and placed the clean one by the water. Then he hid. The shepherds saw the muddy boot, picked it up, and thought, "One boot, and it's all muddy. It's not worth cleaning." When they reached the water, they found the clean boot and ran back for the muddy one. Meanwhile, the thief emerged and drove the oxen away.

When the shepherds returned, the oxen were gone. They searched everywhere but couldn't find them. They went to the king and reported the loss. The king understood what had happened and called the thief.
"Bring back the oxen, and take your three thousand coins."

The thief returned the oxen and took his reward. The king challenged him a third time.
"If you can steal my wife, I'll give you half my kingdom. If not, I'll have your head," said the king.
The thief asked for two weeks, and the king agreed.

The king, however, decided to kill the thief. He surrounded his palace with troops and ordered them to shoot anyone who appeared. The thief found a dead body, dressed it in his clothes, dragged it to the palace gates, and stood it up. The guards thought it was the thief and riddled it with bullets. They reported to the king that the thief was dead. The king was delighted and ordered the fake thief to be buried, then dismissed the troops. Meanwhile, the thief sneaked into the palace, grabbed the queen, and rode off with her.

As the thief led the beautiful queen away, a devil appeared. The devil took a liking to the queen.
"Sell her to me!"
"I will," said the thief, "but what will you give me?"
"Whatever you want."
"Give me a hat full of gold."

The devil was thrilled and ran to fetch the gold. The thief dug a huge hole, poked holes in his hat, and covered the hole with it. The devil poured gold into the hat, but it never filled up. He carried all his gold and barely filled the hole. The devil took the queen.

When the king returned from the funeral, the queen was gone. He called the thief.
"Bring back my wife, and take half my kingdom."
The thief went to the devil and said, "I don't need your gold! That was the queen. Return her—the king demands it."
"No," said the devil, "let's compete. Whoever wins gets the gold and the woman."
"Fine, how?"
"Let's race," said the devil. "Whoever reaches the finish line first wins."
"Alright," said the thief, "but I'll fetch my cousin to run for me."
"Fine," said the devil, "if you can find a cousin who can outrun me."
The thief caught two hares, put one in his pocket, and held the other in his hands, stroking it and saying, "Come on, little cousin, run and don't embarrass me."
"I'm ready," said the devil. "Bring your cousin."
"You run, and he'll catch up."

The thief released the hare, and it darted into the bushes. The devil chased after it. The thief took the other hare from his pocket, held it, and said, "Well done, little cousin, you didn't embarrass me."
The devil ran back and shouted, "Here I am! Where's your cousin?"
"He finished long ago and is waiting for you," said the thief.
The devil argued, "I don't agree. Let's compete differently."
"Fine," said the thief, "how?"
"Let's see who can shout louder."
"Are you mad? Why should we shout?"
The devil insisted, and the thief agreed. The devil let out a scream so loud it nearly deafened the thief. When it was the thief's turn, he said, "You're not shouting right. Let me show you. But first, plug your ears with cotton and cover your eyes, or I might deafen or blind you."

The devil plugged his ears and covered his eyes.
"Hold on," said the thief, "I'm about to shout!" He grabbed a huge club and struck the devil on the head.
"Enough! Don't shout anymore!" begged the devil, but the thief kept hitting him. The devil roared.
"Did I win?" asked the thief.
"Not yet," said the devil.
"What else do you want?"
"Let's wrestle. Whoever is stronger gets the gold and the queen."
"Fine," said the thief, "but I'm afraid I might kill you. I have an old uncle who can wrestle with you."
The devil was delighted.
"Very well!"

The thief led him to a bear's den and said, "He's lying in there. Go in, grab his hand, pull him out, and you can wrestle."
The devil crawled into the den, grabbed the bear, and tried to pull it out. The bear, furious, swiped at the devil, knocked him down, and mauled him.
The thief won both the queen and the gold. He returned to the king, deposed him, and became king himself.

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The Tale of the Thief

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