"Let us know thy secret," ordered the Tsar Archidei.

"No, Tsar Archidei Aggeivitch! Give me, first of all, thy royal word
not to kill me for my inborn talent, but to have mercy upon me. Then
only will I be willing to disclose my secret."

"Thy wish is granted. I give thee my royal word, true and not to be
broken, that whatever thou shalt disclose to me, I will have mercy
upon thee."

Hearing these kind words, the seventh Simeon smiled, looked around,
shook his curls and began:

"My trade is one for which there is no mercy in thy tsarstvo, and it
is the one thing I am able to do. My trade is to steal and to hide the
trace of how and when. There is no treasure, no fortunate possession,
not even a bewitched one, nor a secret place that could be forbidden
me if it be my wish to steal."

As soon as these bold words of the seventh Simeon reached the Tsar's
ears he became very angry.

"No!" he exclaimed, "I certainly shall not pardon thee, thief and
burglar! I will give orders for thy cruel death! I will have thee
chained and thrown into my subterranean prison with nothing but bread
and water for food until thou forget thy trade!"

"Great and merciful Tsar Archidei Aggeivitch, postpone thy orders.
Listen to my peasant talk," prayed the seventh Simeon. "Our old
Russian saying is: 'He is no thief who is not caught, and neither is