“The king was surprised, for he knew he had given Mouk no money; but the treasurer who was present, and who had cause to know that certain sums were missing from the treasury, added his story to that of the cup-bearer.
“They told the king that Mouk always had more money than he knew how to spend, and the treasurer suggested that Mouk had stolen it from his royal master.
“So the king ordered spies to be set to watch the little man in order that they might try and catch him in the act of stealing.
“The following night little Mouk, who had generously given away all his money, stole out to the garden with his staff and spade to find more treasure.
“It was not long before he discovered another pot of gold, and had just uncovered it and begun to fill his mantle with coins, when his enemies fell upon him, bound him hand and foot, and led him before the king. They unearthed the pot of gold and carried that with them too.
“The king was not in a very good temper, for he had been awakened from his sleep, and so his poor little courier got a very bad reception.
“The wicked men who had caught Mouk now began to accuse him of having stolen the pot of money, declaring they caught him in the act of burying it in the earth. The king asked the accused what he had to say for himself, and bade him tell how he came by so much money.
“Little Mouk, knowing his own innocence, told the king boldly that he had found the pot in the garden and that he had been digging it out, not burying it.
“All present laughed loudly at the impudence of the little dwarf in making such a foolish excuse. But the king was furious. ‘You wretched little thief,’ he cried, ‘how dare you lie to me in this barefaced manner, after having robbed me, too.’ Then he asked his treasurer if it were true that a sum such as had been found with the dwarf really were missing from the treasury.
“Of course the treasurer declared that not only that sum, but more still had been missing, from time to time, and that he was absolutely certain that it had been stolen.