Neocheating
Once upon a time, Robin Hood wearied of petty philanthropic
banditry. Too small and too risky; he wanted something both grander and safer.
He decided to Neocheat.
So
one dark night he and his Merry Men broke into the Sheriff’s treasury and stripped
it bare. Then they snuck into Nottingham and pushed money under every peasant’s
front door, keeping none for themselves.
The Sheriff was furious when he saw where all his money had
gone, but he didn’t know whom to behead. Certainly none of the peasants; they
didn’t do the deed, they’d soon lose that money anyhow, and the Sheriff needed
them alive to exploit. He suspected Robin Hood, but also a dozen other
political rivals; so he seethed and he did nothing but wait for the money’s
inevitable return to the top.
But during that money’s inevitable rise, it changed hands
many times; and each exchange was for a trade; and each trade made Nottingham
wealthier. During that economic boom, Robin Hood dealt shrewdly but fairly with
the people, and so made an honest fortune.
He was never accused of any crime, nor ever
caught or punished.
Moral: The most
sublime act is to set another before you.
Comment: The
Moral is from William Blake's “Proverbs of Hell”. There it sounds conventional,
but here it describes an untraceable scam.
