Question

10 walking around the royal hall, the thief offered the pit to every person in the room. no one could accept his gift. no one was free from having lied, cheated, or stolen.
11 \members of the royal council,\ the thief called out. \you have all lied, cheated, or stolen, yet here you are—free to live as you see fit. i stole a mere bit of silk to wrap my gift for the king. for that, i am locked in a jail cell. where is the justice in this?\
12 the enlightened king paused to consider all that the thief had said and done. \go free,\ he proclaimed. \you have taken much, but you have given more. thank you for this gift.\
question: what effect does the thiefs \gift\ have on the people in the great hall?
a. they become angry and demand his execution.
b. they refuse the gift out of loyalty to the king.
c. they feel ashamed when forced to face their own dishonesty.
d. they secretly plot to steal the pit from the thief.

Explanation:

The text says "No one could accept his gift. No one was free from having lied, cheated, or stolen." This implies that when faced with the thief's statement about their own dishonesty (lying, cheating, stealing), people in the hall feel ashamed as they are forced to confront their own unethical behavior. Option A is not supported as there's no indication of anger and demand for execution. Option B is wrong as the reason for refusal is not loyalty to the King but their own guilt. Option D has no basis in the text.

Answer:

C. They feel ashamed when forced to face their own dishonesty.