The Master Thief

Andrew Lang (1844 1912) was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him. Lang was also a prolific author of works both fiction and non; he wrote his own fairy tales such as Prince Prigio and Prince Ricardo of Pantouflia, and wrote numerous historical texts.

'The Master Thief' is a fairy-tale about a young man who goes seeking his fortune with the father's permission 'to take any trade he wants to take'. So he goes and goes and then a night comes, terribly cold and rainy. Our young man comes to a house where a woman lives. He stays there for a night although the woman has warned him against. Soon the real owners of the house come and decide to kill him for they are robbers and murderers. But the boy manages to stay alive telling them he is ready to become one of them.

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