The Horse Thief

By Megan Powell

There was once a gypsy thief who decided to steal a peasant's horses. As he walked along the road, a devil fell into step beside him.

"Where are you going?" asked the devil.

"I'm going to the peasant's house at the top of the hill," the gypsy replied. "I'm going to steal his two horses."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"I'm going to wait until everyone is asleep, and at midnight I'll jump over the fence, run into the barn, jump on one of the horses and lead the other away. Even if the peasant wakes up and calls for help, I'll have plenty of time to get away. Where are you going?"

"I'm also going to the peasant's house at the top of the hill," the devil replied. "I'm going to kill him and eat his liver. Then I'm going to kill his wife and children and eat their livers, too."

The gypsy nodded. "How do you plan to do that?"

"I'll turn into a fly," the devil confided, "and crawl up the peasant's nose. He'll sneeze blood until he dies. Unless someone says "God bless you" every time he sneezes, my plan will work."

When they reached the house, the gypsy and the devil parted ways. The devil went inside the house, and the gypsy headed off toward the barn, but then he circled back and stood outside the room where the peasant slept. After a few minutes, the man sneezed, and the gypsy shouted "God bless you!" A few more minutes passed, and the man sneezed again, and once more the gypsy shouted "God bless you!" This went on for the entire night.

In the morning, the devil had to leave the peasant's house. The tired gypsy waited until he had gone, then knocked on the door. "I have something to tell you," he said to the peasant. "Last night, I came here intending to steal your horses."

The peasant grew angry.

"Wait until I've told my story," the gypsy insisted. "On my way to steal your horses, I met a devil, and he told me how he planned to kill you and your family and eat your livers. He turned into a fly and crawled up your nose and tried to make you sneeze out all your blood, but I kept shouting "God bless you" until the sun came up and the devil went away."

"Is this true?" the peasant demanded, for gypsies are known to be skilled storytellers. Of course, they are also known to be skilled thieves, and surely a gypsy thief could have stolen the horses easily.

The gypsy swore that his story was true. The peasant went to his stable and got the two horses. "You have saved our lives, and I am grateful," the peasant said. "You should have the horses."

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