The Thief Who Wanted a Reference

A thief caught red-handed trying to rob Tenali Raman's own home was, surprisingly, not handed over to the guards but instead given a meal and heard out patiently. The thief, moved by this unexpected kindness, begged for one more favor: a letter of recommendation, since he wished to give up thieving and find honest work, but no one would hire a man with no references at all.

Tenali Raman, amused by the audacity, agreed and wrote him a letter, sealed and addressed to a wealthy merchant known to be hiring guards. The thief, delighted, took the letter and presented it proudly at the merchant's door.

The merchant read it aloud in front of him: "This man is extremely skilled at entering homes unnoticed, moving silently past sleeping guards, and identifying a household's most valuable possessions within minutes. I recommend him highly — for exactly the kind of work he already knows best, which is decidedly not guarding your house." The thief, caught by his own request, left red-faced — but the honesty of the letter, delivered with such wit, left such an impression on him that he genuinely did give up thieving soon after, ashamed to ever be so cleverly exposed again.