ied in vain to lay hands on them. The Shifty Lad
was too clever for them all, and if they laid traps he laid better ones.
At last one night he stole upon some soldiers while they were asleep in
a barn and killed them, and persuaded the villagers that if THEY did not
kill the other soldiers before morning they would certainly be killed
themselves. Thus it happened that when the sun rose not a single soldier
was alive in the village.

Of course this news soon reached the king's ears, and he was very angry,
and summoned the Wise Man to take counsel with him. And this was the
counsel of the Wise Man--that he should invite all the people in the
countryside to a ball, and among them the bold and impudent thief would
be sure to come, and would be sure to ask the king's daughter to dance
with him.

'Your counsel is good,' said the king, who made his feast and prepared
for his ball; and all the people of the countryside were present, and
the Shifty Lad came with them.

When everyone had eaten and drunk as much as they wanted they went into
the ballroom. There was a great throng, and while they were pressing
through the doorway the Wise Man, who had a bottle of black ointment
hidden in his robes, placed a tiny dot on the cheek of the Shifty Lad
near his ear. The Shifty Lad felt nothing, but as he approached the
king's daughter to ask her to be his partner he caught sight of the
black dot in a silver mirror. Instantly he guessed who had put it
there and why, but he said nothing, and danced so beautifully that the
princess was quite delighted with him. At the end of the dance he bowed
low to his partner and left her, to mingle with the crowd that was
filling the doorway. As he passed the Wise Man he contrived not only to
steal the bottle but to place two black dots on his face, and one on the
faces of twenty other men. Then he slipped the bottle back in the Wise
Man's robe.

By-and-by he went up to the king's daughter again, and begged for the
honour of another dance. She consented, and while he was stooping to
tie the ribbons on his shoe she took out from her pocket another bottle,
which the Wizard had given her, and put a black dot on his cheek. But
she was not as skilful as the Wise Man, and the Shifty Lad felt the
touch of her fingers; so as soon as the dance was over he contrived to
place a second black dot on the faces of the twenty men and two more on
the Wizard, after which he slipped the bottle into her pocket.

At l