CHOR CHIT CHEA (THE GENEROUS THIEF)

A tale is narrated that once a time there lived a boy with his father. Since the boy was keen on theft, the villagers called him Chor Chitchea (Generous Thief). When the boy grew up, his father passed away, leaving him to live with his mother. The thief never thought of making his living. When the sky was dark, he came out to steal the villagers' belongings. His mother always gave him advice, but he never obeyed what she had told, therefore she decided to send him to study the language at a pagoda. This young fellow, however, did not study hard, he stole belongings of the other people to feed his mother and himself and never obeyed his teacher's advice.

One day the king of that kingdom went to the royal hall where he ordered all officials to meet him. "There is a vacancy for the position of a district governor," the king said to all officials. "If anyone pays 40 Kahapanaks for the royal bank, I'll offer him that position." Then the king went back to the royal palace. At that moment, when a low ranking official arrived home, he was very anxious to hold that position.

While sleeping, the official talked to his wife, My dear! The king said that if anyone had paid 40 kahapanaks for the royal bank, he'd allow him to hold the position of a governor of the district." His wife replied, "I really want you to have this position, but we're very poor. How can we have this sum for the king?" Then both husband and wife prayed to Devata, "May Devata give me 40 kahapanaks so that I can become the head of a district!"

At the moment of coming back from stealing, the generous thief sat under the house of that official and heard their prayer; the thief felt pity for the office at so he went to get 40 kahapanaks from his home and wrapped it in red cotton cloth. The thief put his arm through the wall to leave the package for the official and returned home. The next morning, the official got up and found the red package. Unwrapping the package, he saw 40 kahapanaks. To his surprise, he told his wife, "We now get 40 kahapanaks from Devata./I His wife suddenly and hurriedly approached to see with her own eye. When she discovered that it was real money, she was very cheerful.

In the afternoon, the official took 40 kahapanaks to the king to put in the royal bank. The king then assigned him the head of that district. When the generous thief was aware that the low ranking official was appointed as the head of the district, he stole the properties of the people in that district and let the owner capture him. The owner took the generous thief to the governor's house. The governor ordered a prison leader to chain the thief and detained him under his house. In the quiet night, the generous thief talked to himself, "My God! I felt pity for him because he wanted to be the governor, so at nighttime I myself left him 40 kahapanaks in red cotton cloth. He is now a leader of the district, but unkind to me. I am sadly detained by that man." And the generous thief kept saying his words.

 
When the district leader and his wife heard this saying, they consulted with each other. "The thief's words are similar to our story," said one of them. "Let's go down to ask him." The district governor went down to ask the thief, "We heard what you have said, we have understood some words. Say it again, please." The generous thief replied, "I have always stolen things from people every night to earn a living. When you were a low ranking official, not yet a district leader, one night, after returning from stealing, I sat under your house hearing you tell your wife that you needed 40 kahapanaks for the king, since you wanted to be the district leader in a province. I felt pity for you, so I went home to bring 40 kahapanaks wrapped in red cotton cloth. I put it at your head side and then returned home. When I heard that you became a district leader, I came to steal the people's belongings in your district in order to be captured. When taken to you, I was severely punished."

Listening to the thief, the district leader believed what he said. "Pal" the governor replied, "It's true. I could become a district leader because of your assistance. Don't worry! I'll free you tomorrow. And
we'll be friends." The district leader asked, "What's your name?" "My name's Chor Chitchea," the thief replied.

When the sun was rising, the governor released Chor Chitchea and said, "Pal! I'll raise you, so stop stealing from people." "] can't stop," refused the thief, "] steal only little money to raise my widowed mother." The leader gave Chor Chitchea 30 kahapanaks for his mother, but he declined the offer. "Where's your house?" asked the governor. "It's over there," the thief replied. Then he requested to return home.

That time a minister of justice and a low ranking official had disputed for months. The low ranking official intended to kill the minister. He had an honest maid, who was very good at serving her master. In the quiet night the official talked to his maid, "I need your favor. I am full of hatred for the minister and want to assassinate him. I do not have anyone to help me but you. I've discovered that you're the cleverest among the others." "Leave me to work for that minister," ordered the official. "Try to serve him best as what you have done to me. After the minister trusts you and he will permit you to work indoor, at a time of quiet when he is deeply asleep, pour some boiling lead into his mouth. He must be
boiled to death and no one knows how he is killed. And if the scheme is successful, I'll pay to free you from slavery." The maid listened and took her master's order.

That night, Chor Chitchea stole the other people and went to sit under the officials house. He heard every word the official spoke to his maid. Later, the maid left the official to borrow some money from the minister and asked to work for him. The minister bought her back in order to serve him. She tried her best to serve the minister and his wife that they had never been upset. The minister and his wife trusted her and let her serve them closely inside the house ever since.
In the middle night, this servant discovered that the minister of justice was asleep; she started to melt the lead in its hot temperature, and poured it into the mouth of minister then he was boiled to death, and she went back to sleep . In the next morning, the minister's wife got up knowing that her husband was dead, she cried loudly making the people came around to see her. She went to tell the king what happened to her husband . And the king, after that, ordered his men to bury the corpse accordingly.

Later, when it was the great ceremony, all officials went to see the king. "If anyone is possible to find the murder of the minister of justice, I will allow him to replace his function", said the king and went back inside after his proclamation. All officials returned their homes respectively. Meanwhile, the district governor, who was a friend of the generous thief, had strong desire to take that position. He, therefore, went to see the generous thief. "My dear friend, what are you looking for?" asked the generous thief. And the governor told him, "1 want to ask you about the death of minister of justice who was secretly killed and no one has known what caused him to death." Now the king said, "If anyone can find who killed the minister, he will appoint that person to take the position of the minister of justice instead, have you known this matter? As 1 am desperately anxious to be a person in charge of that position. The generous thief replied, "1 have known this matter clearly, because that night after stealing the people, I sat under the house of a low ranking official, just not far from the north of the minister of justice's house, hearing that official talk to a servant." And the generous thief narrated all
the account of story to his friend. The thief said, "Please tell this story to the king, and ask for the permission to dig up the corpse. If the lead is found inside the dead body's belly, you will be appointed as the minister of justice eventually," added the generous thief. The district governor returned home happily after he had listened to the story.

Later day, the district governor went to tell the story to the king; there he ordered his servants to arrest that official and his maid servant. After that he ordered to have the corpse dug up an d cut open the belly; then the lead was really found inside the dead body. The king ordered to have a hearing, and the maid servant confessed that she really killed the minister. Therefore, the king sentenced both of them into death, and then he appointed the district governor as the minister of justice ever since.

Since the district governor was appointed as the mistrust of justice, he ordered his servant to invite the generous thief, his friend to see him. The generous thief arrived as invited by minister, he suddenly said, "My dear friend! you have done me a lot of favors; I nowadays became the minister of justice, because of your assistance. So you should abandon stealing other people's properties from now on, and 1 pledge to support you and your mother for whole life." "I would steal once", replied the generous thief, and went back to his house. At night, he went to steal a merchant from whom he had collected much money and a lot of clothes for his mother.

In the morning, the generous thief went to tell the minister, "Dear friend! Last night I stole the money and a lot of clothes. Please believe me; I will abandon my job of stealing from now on." The minister replied, "I am very cheerful that you decided to drop out of such a job. You can come to me at any time if you are in the shortage, and I ensure to support you for your whole life." The generous thief, after all, left the minister and lived happily with his mother. And they both became closed friends, who supported each other as their promise.


- The END -

The generous person is always supported.