The Robber and the Old Man

In a big town there lived a very rich gentleman, and news of his wealth spread far and wide. A clever thief heard about it and made up his mind to get some of it for himself.

He managed to hide in a dark corner of the gentleman’s room while the old man was counting his bags of money. As soon as the gentleman stepped out to fetch something, the thief snatched two of the bags and slipped away.

When the owner came back a few minutes later, he was astonished to find two bags missing. He searched, but there was no sign of the thief.

The next morning, though, he happened to meet the robber just outside his house. The dishonest man looked so flustered that the rich man immediately suspected him. He could not prove anything, however, so he took the case to the judge.

The thief was badly frightened when he heard this. He went to find a man in the village and asked for advice. The wise man agreed to help him, on condition that the robber gave him half the money once he was free. The robber promised at once.

The old man told him to go home and dress in rags. He must tangle his hair and beard and pretend he could not understand the questions. If anyone asked him a question, he was to answer only, “Moo.”

The thief did exactly that. To every question the judge put to him, he said, “Moo, moo.” In the end the judge lost his temper and dismissed the case. The thief went home in high spirits.

The next day the wise man came to collect his half of the stolen money. But the only answer he could get from the thief was “Moo.” At last he gave up and went home without a penny. The ungrateful robber kept everything for himself. The adviser was very sorry that he had helped the thief escape judgment, but by then it was too late.

About this telling

“The Robber and the Old Man” is story XXVI in Barker and Sinclair’s West African Folk-Tales (1917). It is one of the book’s shortest comic tales: the adviser who teaches a trick to cheat the court ends up cheated by it himself.

The book gives no setting beyond “a big town” and a village, and no names at all; the whole joke rests on a single word. Barker notes that he gathered and compared several versions from his students before fixing each story.

Read the original: Read West African Folk-Tales on Project Gutenberg

Best for ages 6–8 — a quick, funny tale where a trick bounces back on the person who invented it.

The same answer changes its target

The adviser teaches the thief to make conversation impossible. Once that works in court, it also works against the adviser’s demand for payment. He has relied on a promise from someone whose dishonesty he is helping. The trick rebounds, but the original victim never receives his money back.

Speak the two questioning scenes with the same ‘Moo’ response. What does the audience know in each scene that the questioner cannot establish? The judge’s dismissal is part of the joke, not evidence that silence or unusual behaviour proves innocence, guilt or a mental condition.

Questions to ask

• What did the wise man tell the thief to do in court?
• Why did the wise man get nothing in the end?
• Do you feel sorry for the wise man? Why or why not?

Related stories

• The Squirrel and the Spider — a cheat beaten by his own argument
• Honourable Minū — one word that causes a big misunderstanding
• Tit for Tat — a trick repaid in kind