s."

Here the Tsar Archidei looked at the youngest Simeon and remembered
that he had not asked him about his trade. So he said:

"And thou, seventh Simeon, what is thy trade?"

"I have none, Tsar Archidei Aggeivitch. I learned many, but not a
single one did me any good, and though I know something very well, I
am not sure your majesty would like it."

"Let us know thy secret," ordered the Tsar Archidei.

"No, Tsar Archidei Aggeivitch! Give me, first of all, thy royal word
not to kill me for my inborn talent, but to have mercy upon me. Then
only will I be willing to disclose my secret."

"Thy wish is granted. I give thee my royal word, true and not to be
broken, that whatever thou shalt disclose to me, I will have mercy
upon thee."

Hearing these kind words, the seventh Simeon smiled, looked around,
shook his curls and began:

"My trade is one for which there is no mercy in thy tsarstvo, and it
is the one thing I am able to do. My trade is to steal and to hide the
trace of how and when. There is no treasure, no fortunate possession,
not even a bewitched one, nor a secret place that could be forbidden
me if it be my wish to steal."

As soon as these bold words of the seventh Simeon reached the Tsar's
ears he became very angry.

"No!" he exclaimed, "I certainly shall not pardon thee, thief and
burglar! I will give orders for thy cruel death! I will have thee
chained and thrown into my subterranean prison with nothing but bread
and water for food until thou forget thy trade!"

"Great and merciful Tsar Archidei Aggeivitch, postpone thy orders.
Listen to my peasant talk," prayed the seventh Simeon. "Our old
Russian saying is: 'He is no thief who is not caught, and neither is
he who steals, but the one who instigates the theft.' If my wish had
been to steal, I should have done it long ago. I should have stolen
thy treasures and thy judges would not have objected to take a small
share of them, and I could have built a white-walled stone palace and
have been rich. But, mark this: I am a stupid peasant of low origin. I
know well enough how to steal, but will not. If thy wish were to learn
my trade, how could I keep it from thee? And if thou, for this sincere
acknowledgment, wilt have me put to death, then what is the value of
thy royal word?"

The Tsar thought a moment. "For this time," he said, "I will not let
thee die, for it pleases me to grant thee my grace. But from this very
day, this very hour, thou never s