In distant, distant times, there lived a thief Chandu, whose name was widely known not only in these places, but also far beyond their borders. Not even two or three weeks passed without him committing a theft, but he did it so skillfully that no one could catch him at the crime scene. It also helped Chand that he had the gift of understanding the language of animals and birds.
At that time, King Chakor ruled in one of the neighboring countries. The fame of his courage and wisdom spread far beyond the borders of his lands. Not a single thief dared to steal from Chakor's domain. Even Chandu did not dare for the time being. But the hour came, and, feeling that he was quite experienced and dexterous, Chandu went to the kingdom of Chakora.
On the way, Chandu met a merchant who was traveling in the same direction. They exchanged the usual greetings and courtesies on such occasions, and the merchant asked Chandu what his name was and where he was going. When Chandu said his name, the merchant trembled with fear, like a leaf in the wind.
“Don’t be scared,” Chandu reassured him. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”
And suddenly the squeak of a partridge was heard from the roadside bushes. To the merchant's surprise, Chandu said something back to her.
“What does all this mean?” asked the merchant.
“The partridge told me that you were carrying a hundred gold coins in a bag on that donkey over there, and advised me to take them away from you,” Chandu answered with a smile. “But I told her that Chandu never robs his friends.”
The merchant sighed with relief, but at the first opportunity he took the coins out of the bag, wrapped them in a sash and tied them under his robe. As soon as he did this, a howl of a jackal was heard from the forest, and Chandu answered him something.
“What were you talking about with the jackal?” asked the merchant.
“The jackal said that you don’t trust me and secretly hid the coins in his sash.” And he also advised me to kill you and take the gold. I answered him that if I called someone my friend, then I would not kill or rob him no matter how much money he had.
The merchant felt ashamed from these words. How could he doubt Chandu's word of honor? The merchant asked his fellow traveler to forgive him, and they happily continued on their way.
After a few days, they finally approached the possessions of King Chakor. Here Chandu said goodbye to the merchant, having secured his promise not to tell anyone anything.
But a merchant is a merchant - this breed is known - he immediately ran to King Chakor and reported that an experienced thief Chandu had appeared in the city. And the king decided to track down Chandu himself at night.
After sunset, when the shops were closed and the markets were empty, and all the residents were hiding in their homes, Chandu came out of his hiding place and deftly, without making a fuss, glided through the streets of the city. Here he met a man who, it seemed to him, was doing the same thing. “But there are no thieves in this kingdom; this is probably the night watchman,” thought Chandu.
As you know, success is often on the side of the one who attacks first. And now, having crept unnoticed along the wall, Chandu put a knife to the stranger’s throat and demanded to confess who he was. The king - it was he, of course - realized that he had encountered exactly the one he was looking for.
“I am a thief,” the king mumbled, “but since Chakor ascended the throne, I was forced to give up my craft.” Today a merchant reported that the thief Chandu had appeared in the city. So I’m looking for him so that we can take part in some business together. If I'm not mistaken, you are the famous thief Chandu?
- I see you are a smart person. I am truly the one you are looking for and I am glad to meet you. Where do we start?
The king took him to the house of the richest merchant, but the gate was locked and the house was guarded by a night watchman. Chandu grabbed the watchman by the throat, tied him up and gagged him with a rag. Leaving the prisoner in the care of his partner, he entered the house himself. And what did he see there?
In the faint light of an oil lamp, a fat man bent over heavy account books. He sighed desperately, one share missing. And no matter how much I counted, I still could not find this share. From time to time his wife came to him, offering to eat, but he brushed her off like an annoying mosquito.
[Pai is a small coin.]
Chandu stood, looked at the fat man’s suffering and slowly went out into the street.
- Why didn’t you take anything? - his partner asked.
- Yes, the owner is a real miser! He doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep - and all because of some pathetic guy. Yes, if I take anything from his house, he will probably give his soul to God. And I don’t want a person to die because of me. Let's go somewhere else.
The king thought and led him to the house of the court jeweler. Chandu climbed inside and soon emerged with a large bundle. Leaving the loot in the care of his partner, he again entered the house and, groping in the darkness, came across a clay pot. Taking the lid off the pot, I felt some powder, tried it on my tongue and realized that it was salt. Then Chandu quickly got out into the street, took the bundle with the loot and brought it back into the house.
- I don’t understand anything, why did you do this? - the king asked him.
“The fact is that I inadvertently tasted salt from the owners of this house and, therefore, became their guest.” So how can I rob them? It's against my rules. Maybe we can go somewhere else? But actually, why do we need to walk around the city back and forth, let’s go and rob the palace. Even if the king loses a small fraction of his treasures, he will not die from it. Went?
King Chandu took him to his palace, and on the way he told him that the royal bed, according to rumors, rested on four golden bars. And you need to have great skill to remove these bars without waking up the sleeping people. This thought captured Chandu, and he hurried the king.
Skillfully bypassing the guards, Chandu and his partner made their way into the royal bedroom. The carefully polished bars of gold glittered even in the dark. But as soon as they approached the bed, the barking of first one and then a second dog was heard from under it. Chandu listened to their barking and heard one dog say to the other:
“But it was Chandu who came, and probably for the gold bars.” Be careful.
“Shut up, stupid,” the second one replies. “Don’t you see that the owner himself brought him here?” Why are you barking, your stupid head?
Chandu turned to his companion, bowed to him and said:
“Chandu is proud to have a partner like you today, oh sir!”
The king was taken aback by such words and began to insist that Chandu tell how he guessed everything. Pointing to the dogs, Chandu admitted that he understood the language of animals and birds.
The king already liked Chandu - he conquered him with his ingenuity and his ideas about honor. And having learned that he could also talk to animals, he immediately offered him his friendship. Chandu could not refuse him this and became one of the king's closest advisers.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru