How A Simpleton Fooled a Burglar

Pouna and Poovaji were a happy couple who lived in a village far from the city. They were simple and trusting to an extreme degree. They lived happily in their tiny cottage.

One day, a notorious burglar visited that village. He surveyed the houses carefully and when the time was ripe, burgled them one by one. He was a clever thief who used disguise, so he could not be detected. He found out all about Pouna and Poovaji, how they were simple and trusting, and how they had saved up a lot of money through hard work and honest dealings. He decided to rob them. On a certain day, the burglar presented himself before their dwelling. He wore a crown that shone brightly in the evening lights. He had a moustache and a flowing beard, all false, of course! Over his shoulders, he had slung a cloth bundle in which he carried some jewels and money, all stolen from elsewhere, of course! He knocked on the door.

From within, Pouna enquired who it was that was knocking at that hour.

“I,” said the thief in a sonorous voice. Struck by the deep tone of the voice, Pouna opened the door and was struck dumb by the splendid appearance that greeted his eyes.

The thief entered the house and turning to Pouna said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the divine messenger of Goddess Fortune. I have been ordered to visit the houses of good people and find out whether they have wealth exceeding ten thousand rupees. If they have more than that amount, then I go my way. If they have less, then I take their money and double it during the night. Today, it is your turn to receive the blessings of Goddess Fortune.”

The credulous Pouna bowed low before this representative of Goddess Fortune. The thief continued, “See here, man, inside this bag, I have ten thousand rupees given to me by another lucky villager. Before the night is out, I shall double the money and give it to the villager.”

Pouna was so impressed by all this talk that he ran to his wife, blurted out the good news, and quickly began to make an inventory of all his wealth. Inspecting their wealth, the thief solemnly declared that the value of the jewels and ornaments gathered by them was less than ten thousand rupees. Therefore, he would take those and return it all double fold in the morning. As the thief was preparing to leave, Pouna, the hospitable soul that he was, requested him to dine with them that night, as his arrival was a privilege not given to everyone. The thief agreed, thinking that he would quit the house with the money after eating their food. Then he tied both bundles firmly together.

Poovaji was an excellent cook and the thief, eating such good food for the first time in his life, felt drowsy and was soon fast asleep.

Poovaji finished her nightly chores and came into the room. She saw the thief sleeping peacefully and as she turned to go, noticed the cloth bundle on the floor. She told Pouna, “Look at that. Our honourable guest has gone to sleep leaving his bundle carelessly on the floor. Put it in a safe place, so no one can steal it at night.”

Pouna did as he was bid and placed the cloth bundle inside his almirah. Then they went to sleep.

Sometime during the night, the thief woke up and hurriedly picking up a cloth bundle from a corner of the room made off with all haste. The bundle he had picked up was the one in which Pouna had bought a lot of potatoes that morning. The thief did not know this and after he had reached the outskirts of the village, sat down under a tree and opened it. The potatoes rolled out and fell on the grass. The thief realized that he had picked up the wrong bundle by mistake, so he resolved to go back and bring back the original bundle.

In the morning, Poovaji was surprised to see that her guest of the previous evening was missing. So she ran to her husband and said, “Our honourable guest has departed without saying goodbye.”

Pouna said, “Maybe he has doubled our wealth secretly in the night. Let’s look into that bundle.”

When he opened the bundle, a lot of jewels and ornaments, more than the ones he had given the thief, fell out. So happily he turned to his wife and said, “See that! Our honourable guest has kept his word.”

Poovaji was overjoyed at such good fortune. Like all women, she was fond of decorating herself, and soon, decked out in all those glittering ornaments, she visited her friends to show off her newfound wealth. One of her friends was the wife of wealthy Narayan Chetty and the latter was shocked to see Poovaji wearing some of her own jewels. Now Narayan Chetty’s house had recently been burgled. Therefore his wife began to ask Poovaji where she had got those lovely necklaces. Poovaji happily rattled off her encounter with the mysterious stranger who had doubled their wealth. Narayan Chetty’s wife related all this to her husband who in turn complained to the magistrate. But he added that Pouna was innocent. Someone had duped him. Probably a clever thief in the guise of a god had taken advantage of the trusting and credulous nature of Pouna and his wife. That thief was likely to come back for the articles he had left behind.

The magistrate agreed with Narayan Chetty and ordered his men to keep a close watch on the house of Pouna. Sure enough, that night the thief returned to Pouna’s house wearing the same disguise as the previous day. He knocked on the door and it was opened by Pouna who greeted him effusively. Just then, the king’s men pounced upon the thief. The thief tried to run, but one of the king’s men caught him by the beard, which promptly came off. Another grabbed his moustache and that too came off. Thus the divine messenger of Goddess Fortune stood revealed as an ordinary burglar.

All the stolen loot was recovered and returned to the rightful owners. Pouna received a rich reward from the government because, ultimately, he was responsible for the capture of the burglar.