Smarter Thief

As he darted through the dense forest with the stolen gems of the king, he saw a short guy walking at a distance. He called out “Hello, stay there. I am with you”. The guy walking in front turned back, kept his hands firm on the shoulder bag he was carrying and stopped. The thief gathered pace, neared him asked “Who are you? Where are you from and here at this time?” He did not reply. The thief was smart enough to infer that the guy he was talking to is dumb.”Can you hear what I speak?” The thief asked loudly and the guy nodded in agreement. “Let me introduce myself. I am the smartest thief this kingdom has ever witnessed. I was never caught and will never be.” The dumb shrugged which tempted the thief “OK, you will accept my talent in a while”. They walked for 5 minutes and the thief asked him “Can you tell me the direction we are heading?”. The dumb looked into his pocket where he kept the compass and found it missing. Then the thief opened his closed fist to show him the compass. “What I have stolen is mine. Take my advice – never underestimate anybody. You did not believe when I said I am a smart thief and I had to prove. You lost compass in the process” the thief laughed. The dumb had an enigmatic smile in reply. They walked for another hour and asked him “Can I have some wine?” The dumb was not surprised this time. He was sure that the wine bottle he carried has been stolen from his bag. Hoping against hope, he searched for it in his shoulder bag and found his assumption true. Dumb had the enigmatic smile back on his otherwise expressionless face. The thief continued “Take my advice – you need to be alert while walking with a thief”. As they covered few more furlongs, they fell prey to few soldiers who guarded the forest. “Somebody stole the costliest gems of the king. And we are searching everyone. We don’t want to leave any stone unturned. We need to check you both. Please cooperate.” The thief was clever enough to place the stolen gems into the dumb guy’s bag and confided immediately to the soldiers. The soldiers checked the bag and found the gems. They arrested the dumb and decided to take him along to summon before the king. As they walked away with the dumb, the thief waved his hands at the dumb and he had his enigmatic smile for the third time.

The thief took a diversion and proceeded alone with a sigh of relief. He walked hours together appreciating each moment on how clever he was. The narrow lane took him to the bank of the river that flowed through the heart of the forest. He was tired and decided to rest for a while. He sat on the river bank. Collected water in his palm and splashed it on his face. As he rested on the bank, some writings on the sand caught his attention; first line of which read ‘What’s the direction you are heading ?’ He immediately looked into his compass and found the magnet missing. He proceeded with the next line ‘Why don’t you have a drink?’ He immediately fished his hands into his battered bag and took out emptied costly wine bottle. He opened his eyes wide in surprise to read the next line ‘Stealing myself from the spear point of the soldiers wasn’t a big deal either. Thanks for the gems. Take my advice: Don’t lose hope in the hour of panic’