(A) A rich merchant lived alone in his house. Knowing that he was the only person living in the house, he was always prepared in case thieves came to his house. So, one day, when a thief entered his home, he remained calm and cool. Although he was awake, the merchant pretended to be in a deep sleep. He lay in bed and watched the thief in action. The thief had brought a new white sheet with (a) him to carry away the stolen goods.
(B) (b) He then lay down and pretended to be asleep. When the thief had finished collecting as many valuables as he could, he hurriedly tied a knot in the white sheet which he thought was his. The merchant meanwhile ran out into the garden and yelled ―“Thief! Thief!” with all the air in his lungs. The thief got nervous and quickly lifted the sheet. To (c) his surprise, the thin white sheet, filled with stolen goods, was torn apart.
(C) All the stolen goods fell down on the floor creating a very loud and unpleasant noise. Seeing many people run towards him, the thief had to give up on all of the stolen goods. Leaving the goods behind in the house, he ran away in a hurry saying under his breath: “This man is such a skillful merchant; he is a businessman to the core. He has not only managed to save his valuables but has also taken away (d) my new sheet. He has stolen from a thief!” As he said that to himself, he ran away from the house.
(D) He spread it out on the floor with the idea of putting all the stolen valuables into it, tying it, and carrying it away. While (e) he was busy gathering expensivelooking items from the merchant’s luxurious house, the merchant quickly got out of the bed. Then he replaced the new white sheet with a similar looking white sheet, which was much weaker and much cheaper than the thief’s one.