"Oh, I am a Thief," answered the man who was addressed.
"Very good," replied the other men, "we also are Thieves. Can you tell us, please, if there is any particular line in which you excel?"
"Yes," said the second Thief; "I am able to cut the soles off a man's boots as he walks across the road without his being aware of what has happened. What can you two do, pray?"
"I," replied the first Thief, "can withdraw the eggs from under a sitting hen without disturbing her."
"And I," said the third, "can steal another man's dinner from off his plate, and eat my fill as he sits at table, without the victim, or the man sitting opposite, being able to detect me."
So the three Thieves, having struck up a friendship on the ground of their unusual skill, set off together to the court of the Emperor of China, in order to see whether they could not succeed in making their fortunes there.
On arriving at the court they consulted together and came to the conclusion that in order to make any headway in China it was necessary to attract the attention of the Emperor. So they agreed to separate for twenty-four hours, and to meet next day in the courtyard of the palace, each bringing some gift to the Emperor which would please him, and prove to him that they were men of no usual calibre. Accordingly, they parted in different directions, and the following day at noon, they met together in the courtyard of the
