Once upon a time, there was a poor man who had no money to pay for his son to be apprenticed. So he said to his son, "It is time for you to go out in the world and learn a trade. I cannot help you get started, so you may choose whatever trade you like. But whatever you do, do it well." So the son went out into the world to find a trade to learn.
One night he was traveling in a forest when a storm overtook him. The rain fell and the wind blew, and before he knew it he was lost. But he kept walking, and then he saw a light far off, so he started to walk toward it. When he reached it, he found that it came from a large house. He knocked at the door, and an old woman answered.
"Good evening," he said, "Could I stay here for the night?"
"Good evening," replied the old woman. "Indeed the weather is bad tonight, but you might find it preferable to staying here, for the masters of this house are not friendly to visitors."
"Who could turn a traveler away on a night like this?" asked the young man.
"A band of robbers," the old woman answered. "They kidnapped me many years ago to be their housekeeper, and I don't know how to get home, so I've never tried to run away."
"You know," said he, "I think I'd like to stay here anyway. I'd rather face a band of robbers than sleep outside on a night like this."
So the old woman let him in, saying, "Very well, you can't say I haven't warned you."
Then the young man went to bed and slept until the robbers came home. And when they came he woke up, but he pretended he was still asleep, so he could listen to their talk.
When the old woman told them about him, they asked if he had any money. The old woman didn't think he did, because he was dressed so poorly. So then they tried to decide what to do with him.
When the young man heard it suggested that they should kill him, he got up and asked them if they wanted a servant, because if they did he would gladly work for them.
"Do you want to learn our trade?" asked the leader, who called himself Raven. "If you do, then perhaps we can let you stay."
"My father told me I could learn whatever trade I wished," said the young man. "Yours doesn't seem difficult, I think I could learn it easily enough."
"We'll see about that," said Raven.
And so the young man stayed with them, but none of them trusted him, and so no one would teach him anything. But the young man was clever, and he watched them carefully, so he learned a great deal more than they thought.
Now one day the robbers learned that a man who lived nearby was going to take an ox to sell in town. So Raven called the young man and told him that if he could steal the ox without the owner noticing or being harmed, then the robbers would make him their apprentice, and begin to teach him their trade.
So the young man searched about the house, and found a fine shoe with a silver buckle. Its only problem was that it had no match. He took it, and hurried to the road where the ox owner would travel, and left it in the middle of the path. Then he hid himself in the bushes and waited.
Along came the ox owner, and he saw the shoe in the path. "That's a nice shoe," he said to his ox, for he had a habit of talking to things. "If only I had the matching one I would take them home, and maybe my wife would be happy for once." For his wife was very cranky and used to box his ears regularly. "Alas," he continued, "What good is a single shoe?" So he left the shoe where it was and walked on.
As soon as he was out of sight, the young man came out of hiding and picked up the shoe, and he hurried through the forest to a spot farther along the road. And when he got there, he again laid the shoe down in the path and hid himself.
When the ox owner came and saw the shoe, he got angry with himself. "Why didn't I pick up the first one?" he demanded of his ox. "I'll run back and get it." He tied his ox to a tree, picked up the shoe, and hurried back the way he had come.
But while he was looking for the other shoe, which of course wasn't there, the young man came out and untied the ox and took it back to the robbers' house.
When the ox owner discovered his ox was gone, he was very afraid that his wife would be angry with him. Then he had the idea to go home and get another ox to sell, for he still had two more. So he went and carefully snuck the ox out so that his wife would not know anything about it.
The robbers were surprised when the young man brought the ox in so easily, for they thought he knew nothing. But when they found out the ox owner was taking another ox to town, Raven called the young man again. "If you can get this ox too, without the owner knowing or being harmed, then you shall be one of us, and not just an apprentice."
"If that's all you want, I don't think it's very hard," said the young man.
"We'll see," said Raven, for he and all his men thought it was only beginner's luck.
This time the young man found himself a length of rope. He cut a short piece and tied it loosely around his neck, but so it looked snug, and the long remaining piece he tied around his chest under his arms, and pulled his shirt down over it with the end sticking out the back of his collar. Then he went again to the road, and climbed up in a tree that the ox owner would pass by, and tied the loose end to a branch. Then he lowered himself down and let himself hang from the branch, pretending to be dead, and waited for the ox owner to come.
When the ox owner came by he was a little startled, but there was nothing he could do, so he led the ox on.
When he was gone, the young man got out of the tree and took a shortcut through the forest, and hung himself up in another tree which the ox owner would pass by.
This time the ox owner was more startled. "Am I imagining things?" he said. "Well, I can't help him either." And he went on again.
Then the young man again got down from the tree and ran to get ahead of the ox owner, and hung himself up in another tree.
When the ox owner saw him there, he said to the ox, "All three look very similar, I begin to suspect there is sorcery afoot. Now you just wait here, while I go back and check if the others are still there." And he tied the second ox up also, and hurried back to look.
Then the young man took himself down and led the second ox away as easy as the first.
The ox owner discovered his second ox missing, and being afraid of his wife, he snuck back again to get the last ox to sell instead.
The robbers were amazed when the young man came back with the second ox, and learning of the ox owner's third trip, they did not bother to tell Raven, but went directly to the young man and told him if he could get this ox as he had the first two, he should be in charge of the whole band. For they thought he could not possibly trick someone three times in a row.
The young man went out again, but he took nothing with him this time. He simply went into the woods and started bellowing like an ox, so that the ox owner heard it and thought it was one of the two he had lost, or both.
So he tied up the third ox and plunged into the forest after the sound, but the young man quietly slipped around him and made off with the third even easier than the first two. So the ox owner stayed in the woods for many days, because he was so afraid of his wife's wrath.
The robbers were completely astonished when the young man returned with the third ox, and they were not eager to tell Raven that they had promised leadership to the young man. But it had to be done, and when Raven had given them a sound tongue-lashing he said that they should not fret, and made a plan to outwit the young man. So they all pretended to like their new master well, and called him the Phantom, and Raven humbly suggested that they should all go on a raid tomorrow to celebrate their new leader.
Now Phantom did not trust their gracious attitudes after the way they used to treat him, but he pretended to suspect nothing, even as they packed all their belongings into bundles.
And they were pleased when he didn't seem to notice that they were taking much more than was needed for a raid, and leaving practically nothing behind. For they planned to tie him up in the morning before he waked, and ride away to find a new place to stay.
But Phantom got up in the middle of the night, and with the old woman's help he got all their bundles tied to their horses without much noise, and all the horses tied into three pack trains. The old woman led one and Phantom led the others, and the two of them rode away and left the robbers with no way to chase them. Phantom even let the three oxen go, that they should find their way back to their master, and so the robbers could not even try to follow by riding those.
Then Phantom took the old woman with him a long ways, and soon they came to a village where the people knew the name of the old woman's hometown. So Phantom said that she should keep the pack train she led, and when she protested it was too much, he said she could always give some of the things away to the people to reward them for taking her home.
So she thanked him for rescuing her from the robbers and bringing her this far, and her guides led her away toward her home, and Phantom went another way with his two pack trains.
