How the thief behaves and how the good man behaves is described in Dmitriy Leo’s parable.
The Parable of “The Good Man and the Thief”
In one city there lived a good man who often helped others. One day, an unexpected guest came to his home and proposed a profitable arrangement. The guest was looking for a place to spend the night and promised to pay generously for one night. The homeowner was willing to help him for free, but he was uneasy because the guest was known for his bad reputation. In the city, people called him a thief. The homeowner agreed to let him stay for one night, but decided to remain attentive and cautious with this man.
The guest entered the house and asked the homeowner to hide his pouch of coins in a safe place so that he could take it back in the morning.
The homeowner led the guest to a secret room in the house where treasures were kept and placed the pouch there. The good man assured the guest that this was the safest place for his coins.
When he awoke in the morning, the homeowner discovered that the guest was no longer in the house. Frightened, he quickly ran to the secret room, but immediately calmed down because the valuables and pouch of coins were still there. Then he thought that the guest had gotten up early and gone to the market to buy food for breakfast. Time passed, but the guest did not return.
The homeowner then went to the central marketplace, hoping to meet the previous day’s guest, since his pouch of coins was still in the house.
The search yielded no results, and the good man returned home.
Upon returning, he discovered that the house was open and all his valuables had been stolen. He sat on the doorstep and wept bitterly: “Why has this tragedy happened to me? I was good to him! Why did he treat me this way?!”
At that time, the city’s wise man was passing by the house. After learning what the problem was, he said, “A thief in a good man’s house is still a thief!”
Author: Dmitriy Leo
