The Stories of the Three Burglars

A narrator in a quiet country neighborhood describes a sudden spate of nighttime thefts that disturb local life and provoke inventive precautions. Neighbors adopt locks, alarms, and watch patrols while the household takes personal measures to protect family and property. To catch an intruder the narrator rigs a library table with wine laced with a near-soporific and other staged clues intended to lure and incapacitate anyone who helps themselves. The collection follows three interconnected episodes in which burglars' methods, motives, and comic mishaps are revealed, producing ironic and often humorous consequences.