362- Cow Thief

It was around midnight on a cold December night, when Sergeant Peter -who was energetically walking his beat- noticed a man suspiciously walking while leading a cow behind him.

Sergeant Peter didn’t hesitate and approached that man and asked him for the reason of his late walk. The man panicked and showed all sorts of signs of anxiety and fear and then got out a $ 10 note and tired to get Peter to take it. Immediately sure that the man is a thief, he refused to accept his bribe and firmly ordered to walk in front of him to the police station.

Sweating furiously, the man got out another note and begged Peter to leave him. Peter stood back and pulled his pistol threatening to shoot if the thief didn’t comply with his orders. Peter walked gun-in-hand behind the thief who saw Peter ready to shoot every time he looked behind him all the way to the police station.

Peter pushed the man fiercely into the police station and reported the whole event in all honesty to the officer in charge. The thief simply smiled as the officer grabbed a chair and asked him to rest and turned to Peter saying, “Congratulations, you’ve just arrested the new deputy Captain.”

Peter was caught completely off-guard and was trying his best to apologize in the middle of all his confusion when the deputy sheriff got up and congratulated him on performing his duty well.

“I usually disguise myself and tour the different patrol areas to check on the performance of those on duty. I even had to borrow the cow from a friend to be your suspect tonight.”

The deputy then asked Peter to come the following morning to his office where the other officers gathered and said, “You’re a faithful and honest man, and you should expect a promotion soon.”

Offering him the money that he did the previous night as a bribe, he said, “Please accept this as a reward. It’s the same amount you refused to take yesterday out of honesty.”

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: سارق البقرة!

Grant me O’Lord to live honest in the few as well as the many.

Let me be faithful neither for other people’s sake nor for reward,

But for your sake O’ Most Faithful.

A Photo of El-Natron Valley Prison

Short Stories (Stories for the Youth) Books by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

A Piece of Bread