Who hasn't known the sickening, demoralizing feeling of being falsely accused? In The Real Thief, William Steig explores this injustice with the keen insight of a good psychologist and the skillful pacing of a brilliant storyteller. Gawain is a goose, a guard for the new Royal Treasury, and intensely loyal to the honey-scented, gruff, fatherly King Basil the bear: "He wanted to please him, to stay forever in his gruff, good graces. Everyone did. Basil was a popular king." The Royal Treasury consists of jewels, medallions, and precious crowns of historical interest--and the only creatures who have keys to the Treasury are Gawain and the King himself.
One fateful day, Gawain discovers to his horror that the pile of rubies is smaller than it should be. He hurries to tell the King, and they both rush back to count them: "Sure enough, there were only 8,643 of the red gems when there should have been 8,672." Day after day, treasures continue to disappear, including the world-famous Kalikak diamond!
The King is flummoxed. He calls a meeting of his Royal Cabinet, who finally persuade him that the thief must be his faithful Gawain, whom he loves like a son: "He sent his councilors away and slumped in his throne, dejected. Having listened to an opinion he didn't really believe but was forced to respect, he grew confused and fell into muddled ponderings." That very night Gawain is rousted out of bed at midnight and dragged to the castle dungeon. A trial is held a few days later, and the innocent goose is found guilty, his name disgraced forever. He hates the ones he had trusted and loved for seeing evil in him that isn't there, and he flies the coop before he can be locked away.
The real thief? That is for the reader to discover.
每个人都知道加文是一只诚实正直的鹅，就连国王也对他十分信任，所以任命他为皇家金库的
侍卫长。忽然有一天，加文发现金库被盗了。从开始的红宝石，越来越多的东西从加文的眼皮
底下不翼而飞了。
由于金库的钥匙只有两把，分别由国王和加文两人保管，而金库的大门丝毫无损，所以加
文成了这起盗窃案唯一的嫌疑犯。在经历了荒唐的审判之后，加文被判有罪。无辜的他百口莫
辩，最终夺窗而逃。
究竟是谁偷走了珠宝呢？国王能否找到加文呢？让我们带着这些疑问进入这个小动的世界
吧。
本书曾荣获美国图书馆协会最佳青少年读物奖，被译成十多种语言，风靡世界。
By William Steig, Paperback, Simplified Chinese Characters, 198 Pages, 7.8"x5.75"
