I-Am-Coming
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There was a famous thief in Hangzhou in the Song dynasty by the nickname of I-am-coming. Every time he committed a theft, he would leave his nickname on the wall. After an all-out search, the police caught the man and brought him before the magistrate.
The man vehemently denied the charge. “Your Honor, they’ve got the wrong man. They’ve got no proof.”
“What proof do you have?” the magistrate asked the police officer.
But the police could not produce any proof. “This thief leaves no trace,” the officer said. “But we went through a lot of trouble catching him. If you let him go, it’ll be difficult to apprehend him again.”
The magistrate ordered the man to be taken into temporary custody pending further investigation.
Now it was custom for a prisoner to give the guards money when he entered the prison.
“I’ve got nothing with me,” said the man to the guard. “They took away all my belongings. But I put away some silver in the Temple of the Mountain God. I had it hidden under a brick behind the shrine. Go there, pretend you are praying and take it.”
The guard, half believing, went there and found twenty ounces of silver. He was pleased and began treating the man like a friend.
A few days later, the man said, “You’ve been nice to me. I’d like to give you some more money. I have a package hidden under the Shi Lang Bridge. Go there and take it.”
“The bridge is a busy place. How can I take something without being noticed?”
“Take some laundry there. Pretend you are washing and then take the package and put it in your laundry basket.”
The guard, following the man’s instruction, found three hundred ounces of silver in the package. He was very grateful and bought some wine for a drink with the man.
“I’d like to ask you a favor,” said the man. “I want to go home tonight. I’ll come back before daybreak.”
The guard looked uneasy.
“Don’t worry, my friend,” said the man. “I won’t escape. Why should I? The police got the wrong man and the magistrate can’t convict me. They have no evidence. I’m sure they’ll release me. You have my word: I’ll be back in four hours.”
The guard thought even if the prisoner did not come back, his case was not serious because he was not convicted. If necessary, he could always use some of the man’s money to hush things up. So he obliged him. Instead of going out through the prison gate, the man jumped to the roof and disappeared without a noise.
The guard was snoozing when the man returned. He shook him awake.
“You do keep your word, my friend.”
“Thank you for letting me out. I’ve left something in your house as a token of my appreciation. I expect to be released soon.”
The guard did not quite understand. When he went home, his wife was in a state of agitation.
“Early this morning,” she said excitedly, “I heard a noise on the roof. Then a package fell into the room. I opened it, it was full of gold and silver. Darling, Heaven is shedding His blessings on us!”
“Hush! Put it away. Don’t say anything about it.”
The guard went back to the prison and thanked the man profusely. That day half a dozen households in Hangzhou reported burglary in the night and on the walls of each house was the familiar phrase, “I-am-coming.”
When the magistrate heard of it, he ordered the prisoner to be released. Obviously the culprit was still at large. Only the prison guard knew what really had happened but he kept his mouth shut.
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Woman In Black
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Wise Proverbs
- A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
- 智者创造的机会比他所找到的更多。
- Money talks.
- 有钱能使鬼推磨。
- Drinking the water of a well, one should never forget who dug it.
- 吃水不忘打井人。
Editor Says:
Wit plus generosity makes the thief all the more formidable.