THIEF
Once a thief named Kalu had planned to loot the king’s treasury. At midnight he went to the palace and began to drill a hole in the side wall of the treasury, The king, who was awake in his bedroom just above the treasury, came out to investigate the whirring sound. He was dressed in a simple nightgown and the thief could not recognize him. He asked Kalu who he was and what he was doing. The latter said, “Sir, I am a thief and intend to loot this treasury. I presume that you are also a thief and have come with the same intention. No matter, let us both go inside and we shall share the loot equally. ‘ Both entered the treasury and divided all the money and the jewels equally between them.
Inside a locker, they found three big diamond pieces. As the thief was puzzled as to how to divide the three pieces into two portions, the king suggested, “We have taken away everything else. Let us leave one diamond piece for the poor king and share the rest equally”. Kalu agreed and when he took his leave, the king asked for his name and address. As Kalu had taken a vow of telling only the truth, he gave the correct information.
The king took away his share of the loot and hid it in his room. Next morning he asked his Prime Minister to inspect the treasury as he had heard some strange sounds during the previous night. The Prime Minister saw to his horror that all the valuables were missing and only a single diamond was left, perhaps inadvertently, by the thief. He put the diamond in his own shirt, pocket as its loss could be ascribed to the thief and nobody would suspect the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister went back to the king. The king particularly enquired, “Do you mean that the thief has completely denuded the treasury of its valuables and not a single item has been left?” The Prime Minister confirmed it. The king asked the chief of police to bring in Kalu. When Kalu came he was unable to recognize the king as his accomplice of the previous night. The king asked him, “Are you the thief who has stolen everything from my treasury leaving nothing back?” Kalu confirmed it but said, “Sir, I did leave one diamond back in the locker as advised by an accomplice of mine and it should still be there.”
The Prime Minister interrupted saying, “Your Majesty, this thief is lying. There is nothing left in the locker”. The king asked the police chief to search the pockets of the Prime Minister, from where the missing diamond was recovered. The king told his courtiers; “Here is a Prime Minister who is a liar and a thief and here is a thief who is a truthful gentleman.”
1. The king came out in the middle of the night in order to
(a) help Kalu o break into the palace treasury
(b) share the loot equally between Kalu and himself
(c) find out the source of and reason for the sound he had heard
(d) catch the thief who had come to steal his valuables
2. Kalu could not recognize the king because
(a) the king was wearing clothes like those of an ordinary person
(b) the king’s clothes were covered by a simple nightgown
(c) Kalu had never seen the king before
(d) Kalu had not seen the king descending from his bedroom
3. Which of the following made the king suspect the Prime Minister? The Prime Minister’s statement that
(a) except for one piece of diamond, all other valuables were stolen
(b) all the valuables without any exception were stolen from the treasury
(c) the thief was lying when he said he had left one diamond back in the locker
(d) the search for the diamond did not yield any favourable result
4. They decided to leave the diamond inside the locker because
A. they wanted some part of the wealth to be left for the Prime Minister.
B. it was difficult for them to carry the third piece of diamond.
C. the total number of diamonds being odd, they had to leave out one piece to facilitate equal distribution.
(a) None (b) All the three
(c) Only A (d) Only B
5. Which of the following horrified the Prone Minister?
(a) The valuables missing from the King’s treasury
(b) A piece of diamond left in the locker
(c) Certain strange sounds heard by the Prime Minister
(d) The fact that the king suspected him of stealth
6. Which of the following was admitted by Kalu to the king in his court?
A. Kalu was involved in the theft along with an accomplice
B. He had stolen all the valuables except one diamond
C. He was involved in the theft in which a king himself had helped him
(a) Only A (b) Only B
(c) Only C (d) Both A and B
7. Kalu revealed to the king his real intention because
(a) he thought that the king was also a thief
(b) he thought that it was the only way to muster his help
(c) he felt that revealing the truth would ensure safe robbery
(d) None of the above
8. What was the agreement between the king and Kalu about the stolen valuables?
(a) They had not come to any conclusive agreement before breaking into the treasury
(b) They decided to. divide the booty between themselves in equal proportion
(c) They decided in advance that except for a diamond, the other loot would be shared equally
(d) They decided that the money would be taken by Kalu and jeweller by the king
9. Which of the following was the false report given by the Prime Minister to the king?
(a) The thief had left one diamond piece inside the locker
(b) He had found a broken diamond in the locker
(c) The thief had stolen all the valuables without any exception
(d) None of the above
ANSWERS:-
1.(c) 2. (a)
3. (d) 4. (c)
5. (b) 6. (a)
7. (d) 8. (d)
9. (d)
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