The Thief and his Master

Our story starts with a man named Jan who has a problem. He has a problem that all father’s with children must soon face. His son was coming of age and would need to learn a trade. A long time ago boys and girls would need to learn a skill in order to get a job. Why anyone could become a blacksmith, knight, priest, banker, baker, or even a scholar. Now the problem was when trade was chosen, the father had to pay for all the learning and supplies needed. For the rich men in the town this was an easy feat. It was harder for the poor, for they could barely afford to feed their own. Jan wanted his son to be successful but he could not afford it. His son Frederick would come of age. What trade could his son learn, that he could afford? Jan decided to go to church and pray to God for the answer. It was a small church made of cheap stone with a low raised roof. The pews were too long for the single room church. On hot days it was unbearably stuffy. On cold days even with bodies all around, the chill seeped in. On the days the church was empty, it felt crowded. This particular day Jan walked in too find the priest was gone for he did not greet him at the door. Jan thought nothing of it. He took the opportunity to kneel before the altar. He preferred it over sitting in the pews lined with lumpy pillows. On his knees with hands clasped tight he asked for God’s help.

“Lord I am a poor man with no money for my son to learn a trade. Tell me which trade should he learn. A trade that I can afford. A trade that could make him not only prosperous but fulfilled?”

At the moment Jan was praying. The priest was knelt behind the altar hidden from view. Why? Because behind the altar in the floor here is a chest. A chest that holds the church's’ most valuable possession. A golden orb encrusted with rubies and emeralds. The priest had a strange dream that the orb that no one knew he had went missing. He decided to calm his nerves by proving to himself it was safe. He opened the chest at the same time Jan was making his silent prayer. To his horror the beautiful orb was gone! He screamed in rage,

“Thieving! Thieving!”.

Jan lifted his head. It seemed so clear to him now. Thieving would be a cheap trade that could earn his son many riches. And if God approved than Jan would too. With that single though in mind, he ran all the way home. Had Jan stayed longer he would hear the rest of what the priest had to say. The priest sprang up in a rage and screamed til he was red, then blue in the face. He would not stop until he spotted Jan. The priest would stop breath heavy, body heaving. A moment would pass or two would pass. The usually shy spoken man would mumble while blushing bright red,

“My apologies dear son.”

The priest would explain himself for his sudden outburst. Jan would not rush home. Jan’s son would not become a thief. The story would end here. It is a good thing Jan did none of that.