THE BOY AND THE THIEF

A boy was weeping as he sat upon a well at the water's edge, his mouth gasping and gulping in a great show of extravagant sobs. A sly thief noticed that the boy was crying and asked him why he was so distraught. The boy pretended that his rope had snapped and broken, and that he was bewailing the loss of a golden jug that had fallen down into the well. Without a moment's hesitation, the thief's criminal fingers peeled off his hampering garments and he plunged directly into the depths of the well. As the story goes, the little boy then tied the thief's cloak around his own little neck and disappeared out of sight in the bushes. After the thief had risked danger for a deceptive reward, he plopped down on the ground and lamented the loss of his cloak. The clever thief is said to have made the following speech as he sighed and complained to the gods of heaven: 'So be it! From now on, if anybody is foolish enough to think there could be a jug lurking beneath these transparent waters, let him beware! He will loose the shirt off his back, just as he deserves.'