The Thief and the Child

7.18. De puero flente et fure
Caxton: Of the theef / and of the child whiche wepte
He is a fole that putteth his good in Ieopardy to lese it for to gete & haue som others good / as it appereth by this fable of a theef whiche fond a child wepynge besyde a welle / of whom the theef dyde aske why he wepte / & the child answerd to hym I wepe / by cause that I haue lete falle within this welle of a boket of gold / & thenne the theef toke of his clothes / & sette them on the ground and wente doune in to the welle / And as he was doune the child toke his gowne & lefte hym within the welle / And thus for couetyse to wynne / he lost his gowne /
For suche supposen to wynne somtyme whiche lesen / And therfore none ought to wysshe that / that he hath not / to thende that he leseth not that / that he hath / For of the thynge wrongfully and euylle goten / the thyrd heyre shalle neuer be possessour of hit
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The Thief and the Boy

110. THE THIEF AND THE BOY. A boy sat weeping upon the side of a well: a thief, happening to come by just at the same time, asked him why he wept? The boy, sighing and sobbing, replied the string was broke, and a silver tankard was fallen to the bottom of the well.
Upon this, the thief pulled off his clothes, and went down into the well to look for it, where having groped about a good while to no purpose, he came up again, and found neither his clothes nor the boy, that little arch dissembler having run away with them. [more info]

The Thief and the Boy

35. THE THIEF AND THE BOY
A boy sat weeping by the side of a well.
A thief came along and desired him to tell
Why thus he wept, and what trouble he had.
"Perhaps I can help you. If so, I'll be glad."
The boy, drying his eyes, showed him a long string,
"I had tied to this a most beautiful thing—
A silver cup out of which often I drank,
But just now in this well to the bottom it sank."
The thief boldly said, "Don't worry over that!"
And soon he disrobed of his clothes and his hat,
Saying, "To the bottom I'll certainly go,
And recover the cup that is grieving you so."
To return the lost cup he had no intention.
But this fact indeed he took care not to mention.
Though he carefully searched he was forced to come up
Without finding a trace of the coveted cup.
But the boy stole his clothes, and then ran away,
And whither he went is not known to this day,
While planning a way to steal somebody's pelf,
Remember you're liable to be robbed yourself.
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