VIII
THE WILY BRAHMIN
THERE was once a certain Brahmin and his wife who although they were in quite good circumstances were very miserly. It was rumoured that they had amassed a considerable sum of money in cash, and that the gold mohurs and rupees in their chest were covered with rust. Some thieves, hearing of this, one night approached their house, and from behind the sleeping-room began consulting as to the best means by which they could get inside. They supposed the Brahmin and his better half to be asleep, and so were not too careful to talk only in whispers. But their intended victims were awake, and the Brahmin determined not only to thwart them, but to utilize their labours for his own benefit. So in an audible and distinct voice, he said to his wife, "O Brahmini, I fear thieves will to-night break into our house. But what can they find? All our wealth is safely buried in the field just behind the house."
The thieves on hearing this, naturally gave up the idea of housebreaking, and all in a body, their number being about a score, left the place and, having secured hoes and spades, returned to the field, and dug it from one end to the other. But to their surprise they found nothing worth having. The Brahmin, however, reaped great benefit from their labour. It was the proper season of the year to have the field dug and prepared for the cultivation of rice, and he thus got the digging done by the thieves without spending a single cowrie for the purpose.
