Thief

are recurring enemies and characters in .
==Characteristics==
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In , Thieves hide out in the Lost Woods and the Village of Outcasts and will barge into Link when he attempts to pass, causing him to drop Rupees, Bombs, and Arrows. Once these are scattered, the Thief will rush around grabbing the items from the ground, although Link can also retrieve them if he is fast. Once they glance at Link they chase him until he is a considerable distance away. Thieves do not cause damage nor can be defeated by any weapon. Sword blows and other attacks will simply knock them back a short distance and stun them. There is one exception who is vulnerable to Link's weapons and must be defeated as part of the main story.
Thieves also appear as friendly characters throughout Hyrule. These Thieves make their hideouts in caves, usually with their collected treasures in Treasure Chests or Pots. They will usually offer advice to Link, while others will even often him large sums of Rupees if he keeps it a secret from everybody. The main hideout for the Thieves of Hyrule is in the Lost Woods, and while many act as enemies, others are outwardly friendly. One of the Thieves in the forest runs a Treasure Chest Game on the north end of the Lost Woods, while another offers a clue about a former Thief that lives near the Desert of Mystery. This Thief is now pretending to be an Average Middle-Aged Man, but is a master locksmith. He will assist Link by opening a locked Treasure Chest, and gives him a Bottle in exchange for his silence. One Thief who has been cursed and transformed into the shape of a hand in the Dark World asks Link 20 Rupees for telling him a story about the Average Middle-Aged Man.
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Thieves in do not cause damage to the Links, but steal their Force Gems. They appear in Kakariko Village and are normal villagers driven to criminality by the influence of the Dark World. To access the northern part of the Village, the Links must trap 10 Thieves by picking them up and throwing them into a fenced in area. Thieves cannot be killed, but can momentarily be stunned by a variety of weapons, including the Swords, Bombs, and Pots.
==In other media==
=== (Ishinomori)===
In the , three Thieves appear in Chapter 6. Upon leaving a nearby shrine in the Dark World, Link is confronted by three Thieves and a Hinox, who ask him about a Fairy they are pursuing for her magic powers. When Link tells them he does not have the Fairy, the Thieves attack him, but the hero easily defeats them with the use of a Whirling Blade Attack from the Master Sword.
==Spinoff appearances==
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Three Pickpockets appear in . The first is an old woman in the Forest of Ogbam that beckons Zelda to come closer as she has a secret to tell. However, once Zelda speaks to her, she informs her that she has stolen one of her lives. The second is found in the Shrine of Strength. While Zelda is talking to another character, the Pickpocket will walk past her and take several Rupees. If Zelda attempts to confront her after she does this, she will merely walk away after stealing more Rupees. The final Pickpocket is found in a house near the Seacoast Plain. He is sitting up against a wall and will steal Rupees from Zelda should she attempt to talk to him.
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==Nomenclature==
==Gallery==
File:Thiefchar.png|A friendly Thief from 
File:ALttP The Forest Thief.png|The Forest Thief seen in the ending of 
File:Thieves (ALttP comic).png|Thieves from the comic
File:ZA Pickpocket.png|A Pickpocket from 
File:AST Thief Sprite.png|A Thief from 
File:ShootingGalleryThief.png|The Shooting Gallery Thief from 
==See also==
*Pikku
*Thievery