Tibetan Folk Tales, by A.L. Shelton, [1925], at sacred-texts.com

p. 105

TWENTY-FIVE

The Two Thieves. (A Black Tent Story)

In the presence of a kind man you are uncomfortable, in the presence of bad food there is an odor.
                                    Tibetan Proverb.

THERE was once upon a time two thieves, one named Lozong, the other Adra. They went out one day and slipping down the mountain stole one of a herd of cattle that belonged to a rich man. They drove this cow into a ravine and killed it where nobody could see them. They were afraid to leave the beef and go and wash the stomach and intestines, as each was afraid the other would run away with it. Adra wanted to stay with the big beef, so finally after much persuasion Lozong took the intestines down to wash them. And both were afraid the rich man would discover what they had done. As Lozong washed and washed and cleaned the intestines he wondered how he could cheat Adra out of his part of the beef. Adra sat and schemed how he could cheat Lozong out of his part. But Lozong had the best plan. He took the stomach and blew it up as big and tight as he could, got him a club and began to beat it as if it were a big drum, all the time yelling. When Adra heard him he was very much frightened and said, "A kä kä, they have caught

p. 106

him now, and are giving him a good beating; they would have gotten me if I had gone down there to wash those things, so I will run away as fast as I can and they will think that he was the only man that did the stealing." So he ran away as fast as he could, and when Lozong got back he kept all the beef himself and laughed to think how easily he had won it from the other thief.