The Shifty Lad

Once upon a time in Ireland, there lived a widow with an only son. He was a clever boy, so she saved up money to send him to school and then to apprentice him to whatever trade he chose. But when the time came, he said he would not be bound to any trade—he wanted to be a thief.

His mother was very sad when she heard this, but she knew that if she tried to stop him, he would only become more determined. So she just said, "Thieves always end up hanged on Dublin Bridge," and left him alone, hoping he would grow wiser with age.

One day she was going to church to hear a famous preacher, and she begged the Shifty Lad—as the neighbors called him because of his tricks—to come with her. But he only laughed and said he didn't like sermons. "However," he added, "I promise you this: the first trade you hear named after you come out of church will be my trade for the rest of my life."

These words gave the poor woman a little comfort, and her heart felt lighter as she said goodbye.

When the Shifty Lad thought the sermon was nearly over, he hid in some bushes along the path that led straight to his mother's house. As she passed by, thinking of all the good things she had heard, a voice shouted close to her ear, "Robbery! Robbery!

Robbery!" The suddenness made her jump. The naughty boy had changed his voice so she didn't recognize it, and he was so well hidden that even though she peered all around, she saw no one.

As soon as she turned the corner, the Shifty Lad came out and ran fast through the woods, reaching home before his mother. She found him stretched out comfortably by the fire.

"Well, do you have any news?" he asked.

"No, nothing. I left church right away and didn't stop to talk to anyone."

"Oh, so no one mentioned a trade to you?" he said, sounding disappointed.

"Well—yes," she replied slowly. "As I walked down the path, a voice cried out, 'Robbery! Robbery! Robbery!' But that was all."

"And that's enough!" answered the boy. "What did I tell you? That's going to be my trade."

"Then you'll end up hanged on Dublin Bridge," she said. But she couldn't sleep that night, lying in the dark worrying about her son.

"If he must be a thief, he'd better be a good one," she thought. "And who can teach him?" Then an idea came to her. She got up early, before sunrise, and set off for the home of the Black Rogue, also called the Black Gallows Bird, who was such a wonderful thief that although everyone had been robbed by him, no one could catch him.

"Good morning," said the woman when she reached the place where the Black Gallows Bird lived when he wasn't out on business. "My son wants to learn your trade. Will you teach him?"

"If he's clever, I don't mind trying," answered the Black Gallows Bird. "Of course, if anyone can turn him into a first-rate thief, it's me. But if he's stupid, it's no use. I can't stand stupid people."

"No, he's not stupid," said the woman with a sigh. "Tonight, after dark, I'll send him to you."

The Shifty Lad jumped for joy when his mother told him where she had been. "I'll become the best thief in all Ireland!" he cried, ignoring his mother's shake of the head and murmur about Dublin Bridge.

Every evening after dark, the Shifty Lad went to the home of the Black Gallows Bird, and he learned many new tricks. Bit by bit, he was allowed to go out with the Bird and watch him at work. At last, there came a day when his master thought he was clever enough to help in a big robbery.

"There's a rich farmer up on the hill who just sold all his fat cattle for a lot of money and bought some lean ones that cost him little. He hasn't paid for the thin ones yet; they're in his cowshed. Tomorrow he'll go to market with the money in his hand. So tonight we must get to the chest. When everyone is quiet, we'll hide in the loft."

There was no moon, and it was Halloween night. Everyone was burning nuts and catching apples in a tub of water with their hands tied, playing all sorts of games. The Shifty Lad grew tired of waiting for them to go to bed.