A THIEF entered the palace of a king in the dead
of night and overheard the king saying to the
queen, "I shall give my daughter in marriage to one
of those sadhus {holy men) who are dwelling on
the bank of the river," The thief thought within
himself: "Well, here is good luck for me. I will go
and sit among the sadhus tomorrow in the disguise
of a sadhu, and perchance I may succeed in getting
the king's daughter."
The next day he did so. When the king's officers
came soliciting the sadhus to marry the king's
daughter, none of them consented to it. At last
they came to the thief in the guise of a sadhu, and
made the same proposal to him. The thief kept
quiet. The officers went back and told the king that
there was a young sadhu who might be influenced
to marry the princess and that there was no other
who would consent. The king then came to the
sadhu in person and earnestly entreated him to
honour him by accepting the hand of his daughter.
But the heart of the thief was changed at the king's
visit. He thought within himself: "I have only
assumed the garb of a sadhu, and behold! the king
comes to me and is all entreaties. Who can say
what better things may not be in store for me if I
become a real sadhu!" These thoughts so strongly
affected him that, instead of marrying under false
pretences, he began to mend his ways from that
very day and exerted himself to become a true
sadhu. He did not marry at all, and ultimately
became one of the most pious ascetics of his day.
The counterfeiting of a good thing sometimes
leads to unexpected good results.
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