Then in his dream a god said to him, "It was because you stole and ate
a very kind man's duck that you are in this state. If you want to recover,
you should go to the kind gentleman and ask him to scold you. Your problem
will be cured!"
Then the thief went to the home of the duck owner and
pretended, "Oh! I heard that you lost a duck. I know that it was one
of my neighbors who stole it. If you scold him once, he will definitely
be scared and return the duck to you."
The owner, being a very
kind man, said, "Oh! It is only a duck. If it's gone, it's gone! Perhaps
that person took it and ate it because he was very hungry. Besides,
I don't have any proof at all. Why should I scold him? I don't want
to do that! I can't be sure whether it was him or not. If he was hungry,
let him eat it! It was only a duck. There is no need for any scolding!"
The thief was terrified because the owner would not scold him, so he
said, "Oh! I am sorry. Please! It was I who stole the duck! If you don't
scold me, I will suffer miserably. Duck feathers are growing all over
my body. Should you scold me just once, I will be cured! After hearing
that, - the owner of the duck was moved and gave him a scolding. Sure
enough, the thief recovered.