rom him for
many years; I am afraid he has come to no good."

"Look at me closely and see if you see any resemblance to him."

Then the farmer recognized Will and took him into the farmhouse and
called Will's mother to come and welcome him back.

"So, Will, you've come back in a carriage and pair," said she. "How
have you earnt so much money?"

So Will told his mother that he had become a Master Thief but begged
her not to mention it to any one, but to tell them that he had been an
explorer and had found gold.

Well, the very next day a neighbouring gossip called in upon Will's
mother and asked her to tell her the news about Will and what he had
been doing.

So she said: "Oh, Will has been an exploiter, I mean explorer, but he
really was a Master Thief. But you mustn't tell anybody; you'll
promise, won't you?"

So the gossip promised, but of course the moment she got home she told
all about Will being a Master Thief.

Now the lord of the village soon heard of this, and he called Will up
to him and said: "I hear you are a Master Thief. You know that you
deserve death for that. But if you can prove that you are really a
master in your thievery I will let you go free. First let us see
whether you can steal my horse out of my stable to-night."

To prevent his horse being stolen, the lord ordered it to be saddled
and put a stable boy on it, telling him to stop there all night.

Will took two flasks of brandy into one of which he had poured a drug,
and dressing himself as an old woman he went to the lord's stable late
at night and asked to rest there as it was so cold and she was so
tired.

The stable boy pointed to some straw in the corner and told the woman
she might rest there for a time.

When she sat down she took one of the brandy flasks out of her pocket
and drank it off, saying, "Ah, that warms one! Would you like to have
a drink?"

And when the stable boy said "Yes," Will gave him the other flask, and
as soon as he had drunk it he fell dead asleep.

So Will lifted him off of the horse and put him on the cross-bar of
the stable as if he were riding, and then he got on the horse and rode
away.

In the morning the lord went down to the stable and there he saw the
stable boy riding the cross-bar and his horse gone.

Then Will rode up to the stable on the lord's horse and said: "Am I
not a Master Thief?"

"Oh, stealing my horse was not so hard. Let us see if you can steal
the sheet from off my bed