ATU 1525A

“The Thief." The falcon under the hat: Russian merry tales and fairy tales, Selected and translated by Guy Daniels, New York: Funk & Wagnalls; 1969, pp. 56-60.

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 19:28:15 +0000

“The Thief." The falcon under the hat: Russian merry tales and fairy tales, Selected and translated by Guy Daniels, New York: Funk & Wagnalls; 1969, pp. 56-60. Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/22/2023 - 12:28

Tale Summary

There was once a boy named Klimka, whose parents decided he should be apprenticed to a master thief. Klimka learned how to seal so well that the only thing he did not know how to do was steal eggs from a magpie’s nest. The master thief told him he would show him how, and he would have shown him, too, how to steal the pants of a living man, but even he did not know how. As he climbed the tree, Klimka stole the pants right off him. Because there was nothing left to teach him, Klimka went back to live with his parents, and supported them with his thievery. One day all the peasants had a meeting and complained about him to the barin, who decided to test his boldness. He summoned Klimka and asked if he could steal a ram for him. Klimka agreed, and the barin ordered his shepherds to guard his rams closely as they drove them to pasture. Klimka made a clever noose which you could put around your neck and appear to be hanged. He ran ahead of the shepherds, tied the noose to a tree, and pretended to be hanged there, so that when they saw him they were sure he was dead and let their guard down. When they left he ran ahead again and played the same trick so that they argued amongst themselves about who they saw hanging before, made a bet, and left the rams. Klimka grabbed one and headed to the tavern. The next morning the barin asked if he had succeeded, and Klimka said yes, he sold the ram for money and used the money to buy drinks. The barin dared him to steal his cashbox and all the money inside it, which had been purposefully placed by the window, with servants waiting, aiming their guns and swords. Klimka stole a goat, stuck its head through the window so that everyone fell over frightened, and took the box. The next day the barin asked if he succeeded, and Klimka replied yes, he broke it but used the money inside to gamble and buy drinks. He then dared him to steal his horse, which was closely guarded by stable boys, one holding it by the tail, another by the bridle, and a third sitting on its back, with two others guarding the door. Klimka dressed himself up and pretended to be the barin, giving the boys vodka until they were very drunk. He placed the one on the horse’s back onto a crossbeam, gave a handful of straw to the one supposed to be holding the tail, and a rope to the one holding the bridle, then tied the two guarding the door together by their hair and made off with the horse. The barin went to Klimka and asked if he stole his horse. Klimka said yes, he sold it for money and used it to gamble and buy drinks. The barin told him to go to the Devil.

Fairy Tale Title

The Thief

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Selected and translated by Guy Daniels

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Feodor Rojankovsky

Common Tale Type

The Master Thief, Tasks for a Thief

Tale Classification

ATU 1525, ATU 1525A

Page Range of Tale

pp. 56-60

Full Citation of Tale

“The Thief." The falcon under the hat: Russian merry tales and fairy tales, Selected and translated by Guy Daniels, New York: Funk & Wagnalls; 1969, pp. 56-60.

Original Source of the Tale

Russian folklore

Tale Notes

The story mentions that it does not know if Klimka stayed with the master thief for a long time, or a short time.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

The falcon under the hat: Russian merry tales and fairy tales

Book Author/Editor(s)

Selected and translated by Guy Daniels

Illustrator(s)

Feodor Rojankovsky

Publisher

Funk & Wagnalls

Date Published

1969

Decade Published

1960-1969

Publisher City

New York

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

Traditional

White

“The Master Thief” Europa’s Fairy Book, Joseph Jacobs, New York, London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916, pp. 121-128.

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 13:00:01 +0000

“The Master Thief” Europa’s Fairy Book, Joseph Jacobs, New York, London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916, pp. 121-128. Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/22/2022 - 06:00

Joseph Jacobs

Tale Summary

A poor boy named Will lives with his family. One day he goes into the woods and meets a band of thieves so he asks if he can join them. They give him a task to see if he is worthy: go get a coin purse from the next passerby in the woods. Soon enough he is off to the trail. As soon as the next person walks by, he stops them on the trail. He tells the man to hand over his coin purse, and when he gets it, he empties it and passes the coins back to the man. The bandits found it funny so Will, eager to prove himself, takes another shot at it. Using his wit, Will was then able to steal some cattle from farmers without using violence. Will stayed with these bandits for many years and built up a fortune. One day he rode back to his poor family’s farm on a carriage and caught up with his family. He tells his mother that he was now the Master Thief but to make sure not to tell anyone. The very next day his mother and the neighborhood gossip met together and she let it slip. The lord of the area caught wind of the news that Will was back in town and that he was now a Master Thief. Soon, the lord called Will to his castle with an offer. Will should deserve death for his crimes, but if he is able to prove himself as a master to the lord, then he can go free. First, he is to steal the lord's horse from the stables that night while one of his men sits on it keeping watch. That night, Will disguises himself as an old woman and asks the man if she might rest in the warmth. He agrees and “she” pulls liquor out of her coat and offers him some. When he is drunk and falls asleep, he props up the saddle with a crossbar and rides the horse into the night. The lord then gives him another challenge: to steal the sheet from under him that night. Will sets up a dummy on a ladder at the lord's window. The lord shoots the dummy and watches him fall. Excited, he rushes to see his body and after he leaves the room Will tricks the lord's wife and gets the sheet. The next day the lord gives him a third challenge. Will needs to bring a priest to the castle that night in a bag. Will waits until nightfall and tricks the priest into thinking he is an angel who arrived on earth during the rapture and climbing into the bag will get him to heaven. The last challenge was to steal the lord's horse from under him. A disguised Will tricks the lord into hopping off so that this man can go catch the master thief. Will grabs the horse and the lord allows him to live his life in peace.

Fairy Tale Title

The Master Thief

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Joseph Jacobs

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

John D. Batten

Common Tale Type

The Master Thief, Tasks for a Thief

Tale Classification

ATU 1525, ATU 1525A

Page Range of Tale

pp. 121-128

Full Citation of Tale

“The Master Thief” Europa’s Fairy Book, Joseph Jacobs, New York, London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916, pp. 121-128.

Original Source of the Tale

Cassandrino from Giovanni Francesco Straparola's The Pleasant Nights

Tale Notes

The Master Thief is an adaptation of Cassandrino which is a tale from The Pleasant Nights. It was published in the 1550s as a compilation of fairy tales and Cassandrino was the first tale on the first night of storytelling. Apart from the name of the main character, the story structure was almost identical. The text in The Master Thief was adapted for younger readers from the original text so that it would be easier to read. Additionally, there were illustrations accompanying the text to hold the young readers’ attention. The picture selected below is a good example of the illustrations included in the rest of the text. These illustrations are only at the beginning and the end of each tale but they depict scenes within the tale. They are all black and white and are not gruesome or graphic in any way that would be inappropriate for a child, even if they depict violence.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Jackson Davy, 2022

Book Title

Europa's Fairy Book

Book Author/Editor(s)

Joseph Jacobs

Illustrator(s)

John D. Batten

Publisher

G. P. Putnam's sons, The Knickerbocker Press

Date Published

1916

Decade Published

1910-1919

Publisher City

New York
London

Publisher Country

United States
United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

Europa’s Fairy Tales is a book from the 1910s which was a collection of fairy tales. It was printed for children with illustrations and easy-to-read text.

Traditional

White