Selected Stories from - Classic Fairy Tales for a Lifetime of Companionship

Author: Wang Weiying / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: The clever thief and his master Yang did not want their son to be a good-for-nothing, hoping he would learn a trade for a better life. He went to the church to pray to God and asked what his son was most suited for. The church sexton, standing behind the altar, pretended to be God's voice and said, "Be a clever thief, be a clever thief." Yang returned home and told his son that God said he was most suited to be a clever thief. So he took his son out to learn the skills of a clever thief. They traveled for several days and nights, living rough, and arrived in a forest where there was a dimly lit small hut inhabited by an old woman. Yang approached the old woman, greeted her, and asked, "Excuse me, where can I find a clever thief? My son wants to learn from him how to be a clever thief." The old woman said, "You've asked the right person. My son is the master thief, and you can learn from him here." The kind Yang then talked to the old woman's son, asking if he was involved in theft. "How could I not be?" he said, "I am the master of the cleverest thieves in the world." He added, "I will teach your son, and you can come back in a year. If you still recognize your son by then, I won't charge you a penny. But if you don't, you'll pay me two talers as tuition."
After the father returned home, his son studied magic and theft diligently. After a year, the father worried whether he would still recognize his son. His heart ached, and he prepared to go to pick up his son. On the way, he encountered a dwarf who saw Yang frowning and sighing. The dwarf asked, "Brother, what's troubling you so much?" Yang replied, "This is the situation: a year ago, I sent my son to learn from the thief master, who told me to come back in a year. If I didn't recognize my son, I'd have to pay him two talers; if I did, I wouldn't pay a penny. Now a year has passed, and I want to go to pick up my son, but I'm afraid I won't recognize him. I also don't know where to get the money to pay the thief master two talers. How could I not be worried?"
The dwarf said, "Take two loaves of especially sweet bread with you. Stand under the chimney. There's a bird looking out from a cage on the beam. That's your son." Yang went and threw a piece of sweet bread crust in front of the cage. A bird came out to look. The father said, "Hey, my son, is that you? I'm your dad." The son looked at his father and was very happy. But the master thief said, "This must be the devil whispering to you. Otherwise, you definitely wouldn't recognize him!" The son said, "Dad, let's go." The father then took his son home.
On the way, a luxurious carriage came by. The son said to his father, "Now, I'll turn into a strong and fierce great hunting dog. You can make a lot of money with me." The wealthy gentleman in the carriage saw the dog and asked the father, "Brother, do you want to sell this dog?" The father said, "Yes, I'm just about to sell this dog." "How much do you want for it?" "Thirty talers. Is that okay?" "Oh, is that a bit expensive?! But it's a beautiful dog. I'll take it." The elegant gentleman put the dog in the carriage.
After the carriage had traveled for a while, the dog jumped out the window when the gentleman wasn't looking and returned to the father, already transformed back into a human. The father and son went home together.
The next day, the village market was bustling with people. The son said to his father, "I'll turn into a strong and sturdy high-stepping horse. You can sell me, but when you sell me, you must pull the reins down. Otherwise, I won't turn back into a human, and I won't be able to return home. People will discover me." The father led the horse to the market. The thief master also came to the market and saw the horse, recognizing it as Yang's son's transformation. He bought it for a hundred talers.
But Yang, in his carelessness, forgot to follow his son's instructions and didn't pull the reins down. The thief master took the horse home and tied it in the stable. A maid passed by the threshing floor, and the horse said, "Please pull down my reins, pull down my reins, okay?" The maid stood there for a while and said, "Ah, what a lovely horse! It can even talk!" She went over and pulled the reins down. The horse immediately turned into a sparrow and flew away. But the thief master also turned into a sparrow and chased after it. They flew to a place and fought fiercely, back and forth. The master lost and jumped into the water, turning into a fish. The young man also turned into a fish, and they fought again. The master lost again and turned into a rooster. The young man turned into a fox and charged, biting off the master's head. The master kicked his legs and died, lying there ever since.
P30-32