10、Long ago, there was a rich man. He had a very big house with a lot of treasures. He had many servants to look after it for a few days. One day, two silver saucers were stolen from the cupboard. After a few days, another two saucers were stolen again. The rich man was very angry. He thought, "Someone must have stolen them. I must catch the thief, or another two saucers would be stolen in a few days."
Then he had an idea. He called in all his servants and said, "Some of my silver saucers have disappeared. Someone among you must have taken them. Who has taken them?"
The servants looked at one another and kept quiet. The rich man said," I shall catch the thief myself. I am giving each of you a stick. Look, all the sticks are of the same length. Keep the sticks. Bring them back tomorrow. The thief's stick will grow two centimeters longer."
That evening, Salleh, one of the servants, went home sadly. His wife asked him, "Why are you so sad this evening?"
"This stick will grow two centimeters longer tomorrow because I have taken the silver saucers," he said.
"Oh, don't worry. Cut off two centimeters from the stick," his wife said. "In other words, your stick will be of the same length as any of the other sticks."
When Salleh heard this, he was very happy. At once, he cut off two centimeters from the stick with a knife.
The next day, each of the servants brought back his stick. The rich man then measured each of the sticks. He found Salleh's stick shorter by two centimeters, Salleh was the thief. He was caught and put into prison. The rich man got back the stolen saucers.