Fabian awoke, had not
a bright idea forced itself upon his mind.
"O," exclaimed he, "the commandments say nothing about _game_!" and as
even the veriest simpleton has it in his power to convince himself of
the purity of an action, however wrong, Carl soon satisfied himself with
the excuse which he had so ingeniously invented. He entirely forgot the
closing line of the commandment, "nor anything that is his," which,
however, would not bear consideration on that occasion. He therefore
seized the two hares that were nearest him, and by the assistance of a
long stick he gained possession of the partridges also.
In the meantime, Mr. Fabian's assistant, who had not yet left the
forest, having been attracted by Carl's movements, had been an
eye-witness to his proceedings. But instead of warning the lad of his
crime, the spectator seemed rather to rejoice at his patron's
misfortune. He might safely do this, for after the crime had been
committed, he could easily disclose the name of the thief, and thus
avert suspicion from himself.
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