armers Market Incidents

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

One of the popular spots in Lilliland was the Saturday morning farmers market in the center of Lilliland. It was very popular with the town’s people and tourists alike. Not only did they have fresh produce but also arts and crafts and some rare antiques.

It was reported, regretfully, that there had been a rash of pickpockets operating in the market. It seemed that the pickpockets would snatch a woman’s purse if she looked like a vacationer. The pickpocket always seemed to disappear into the crowd at the market. Sometimes, when the pickpocket was spotted, he never had the purse that was just taken with him. So without proof, there could be no solid arrest.

The Baron and his chief advisor, Professor Hamblin, were very concerned about this and its effect on the safety of tourists. Tourism was an important part of the Lilliland economy so every place had to be safe and ideal for tourists.

The Professor noted that there was a pattern to the robberies. They would always take place on Saturday at the market. It was always at a place that was very crowded with tourists and with a woman with her handbag dangling freely by her side.

It was strangely reported by witnesses at the market that on the days of the robberies, there were always two men dressed in dark religious robes visiting the market. It might have been just a coincidence, however.

Then after one robbery, the purse-snatcher was spotted running away with the purse under his arm and when he ran between the two men dressed in dark robes, the purse seemed to disappear. The purse would always appear later that day in front of the tourist bureau office with only money in cash missing and nothing else.

The Professor asked that the two robed religious men be watched and sure enough, another purse snatching occurred. The two religiously robed men were immediately searched and the purse was found. It was a very clever trick but it had no place in Lilliland.

All were arrested and brought to justice, and all of the stolen money was returned to the tourists.