The Master-Thief (Grimm)
Short summary
A wealthy stranger visited an old peasant couple and revealed himself as their long-lost son who had become a master-thief.
His father worried about his criminal life, but the son assured him he only stole from the rich. When the local count learned his godson had become a thief, he challenged him to three impossible tasks or face execution. First, the thief disguised himself as an old woman selling wine mixed with sleeping potion. He drugged the guards and stole the count's horse from the stable. For the second task, he used a corpse from the gallows to trick the count into leaving his bedroom, then impersonated the count to obtain the sheet and wedding ring from the countess.
For the final task, the thief placed crabs with candles on their backs in the churchyard and dressed as a monk. He cried out:
Hearken, sinful men, the end of all things has come! The last day is at hand! Whosoever wishes to go to heaven with me must creep into the sack. I am Peter
The parson and clerk, believing judgment day had arrived, climbed into his sack. He dragged them to the count's pigeon-house. Having completed all three tasks, the master-thief was banished from the land and never heard from again.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The prodigal son returns
An old peasant and his wife sat resting outside their miserable house when a splendid carriage drawn by four black horses arrived. A richly-dressed stranger descended and requested a simple country meal of potatoes. The peasant, thinking him a nobleman with peculiar fancies, agreed to prepare the meal.
While his wife prepared the meal, the peasant invited the stranger to his garden where he was planting young trees. When asked about children, the old man sadly explained he once had a son who was sharp and knowing but full of bad tricks, eventually running away years ago. As the peasant tied a young tree to a post, the stranger observed an old, crooked tree lying bent in the corner.
Trees must be trained while they are young... That is how it was with your son, if you had trained him while he was still young, he would not have run away
The stranger then asked if the peasant would recognize his son if he returned. The old man replied he would hardly know him by his face, but the boy had a distinctive bean-shaped birthmark on his shoulder. The stranger immediately removed his coat and revealed the very same mark.
Good God! cried the old man, Thou art really my son! and love for his child stirred in his heart... how canst thou be my son, thou hast become a great lord
The son explained his transformation, admitting he had become a master-thief who took only from the rich while helping the poor. His father expressed dismay at this revelation, warning that such a life would end badly. When they told the mother, she wept with mixed joy and sorrow at seeing her son again but learning of his criminal profession.
The counts challenge
Despite his father's warnings about the local count who had been his godfather, the master-thief decided to visit the castle that very evening. The count received him civilly at first, but upon learning his identity, grew pale and remained silent for some time.
The count declared that mercy would replace justice due to their godfather relationship, but he would test the thief's claimed skills. If the master-thief failed, he would face execution. The count set three seemingly impossible tasks: steal his personal riding horse from the guarded stable, take the sheet from under the sleeping count and countess along with the countess's wedding ring, and finally steal the parson and clerk from the church.
The stolen horse
For the first task, the master-thief disguised himself as an old peasant woman, staining his face brown and painting wrinkles. He filled a cask with old Hungarian wine mixed with a powerful sleeping potion and carried it to the castle courtyard in a basket.
Sitting by the stable, he began coughing like an old woman. The soldiers guarding the stable invited him to warm himself by their fire. When they asked about the cask, he offered to share the wine for money and kind words. The soldiers eagerly drank the drugged wine and called their comrades from inside the stable to join them.
Soon all the soldiers fell into deep sleep from the drugged wine. One had been holding the horse's bridle, another its tail, and a third sat in the saddle. The master-thief cleverly replaced the bridle with rope, gave the tail-holder straw, and hoisted the sleeping rider up to the ceiling using the saddle and ropes. He then wrapped the horse's hoofs in rags to muffle the sound and rode away triumphantly.
The sheet and ring
The next morning, the master-thief returned on the stolen horse to the count's amazement. For the second task, the count and countess prepared carefully, with the countess clutching her wedding ring tightly and the count staying awake with a loaded pistol, watching for any intruder.
The master-thief cut down a hanged criminal from the gallows and carried the corpse to the castle. He set up a ladder to the bedroom window and began climbing with the dead body. When the count saw the figure at the window, he shot it, and the thief let the corpse fall while hiding in the shadows. The count climbed down to bury what he believed was the dead thief.
While the count was digging in the garden, the master-thief climbed into the bedroom and spoke to the countess in her husband's voice. He claimed the thief was dead but deserved a decent burial as his godson. The trusting countess gave him both the sheet to wrap the body and her wedding ring, believing her husband's story about showing mercy to the unfortunate thief.
The parson and clerk
For the final task, the master-thief prepared an elaborate deception. He placed wax candles on crabs' backs and set them crawling around the churchyard to create mysterious moving lights. Disguised as a monk with a false beard, he entered the church at midnight and climbed into the pulpit.
Proclaiming himself as Saint Peter, he announced the end of the world and invited anyone wishing to reach heaven to enter his sack. The parson and clerk, seeing the mysterious lights and hearing the proclamation, decided to seize this opportunity for easy salvation. Both men climbed into the sack, and the master-thief dragged them through the village, claiming they were traveling through clouds and over mountains.
He finally deposited them in the castle's pigeon house, where the fluttering birds convinced them they were hearing angels' wings. The next morning, the master-thief reported his success to the count, who found the parson and clerk still trapped and believing they were in heaven.
Thou art an arch-thief, and hast won thy wager. For once thou escapest with a whole skin, but see that thou leavest my land, for if ever thou settest foot on it again
The count acknowledged the master-thief's victory but banished him from the land forever, warning of execution if he ever returned. The master-thief bid farewell to his parents and departed into the wide world, never to be heard from again.