18
Śrimad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 10, Ch. 13]
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, when Kṛṣṇa was unable to find the calves, He returned to the bank of the river, but there He was also unable to see the cowherd boys. Thus He began to search for both the calves and the boys, as if He could not understand what had happened.
PURPORT
Kṛṣṇa could immediately understand that Brahmā had taken away both the calves and the boys, but as an innocent child He searched here and there so that Brahmā could not understand Kṛṣṇa's  māyā . This was all a dramatic performance. A player knows everything, but still he plays on the stage in such a way that others do not understand him.
TEXT 17
काप्यदृष्टान्तर्विपिने वत्सान् पालांश्च विश्ववित् । सर्वं विधिकृतं कृष्णः सहसावजगाम ह ॥१७॥
kvāpy adṛṣṭvāntar-vipine vatsān pālāṁś ca viśva-vit sarvaṁ vidhi-kṛtaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ sahasāvajagāma ha
kva api —anywhere;  adṛṣṭvā —not seeing at all;  antaḥ-vipine —within the forest;  vatsān —the calves;  pālān ca —and their caretakers, the cowherd boys;  viśva-vit —Kṛṣṇa, who is aware of everything going on throughout the whole cosmic manifestation;  sarvam —everything;  vidhi-kṛtam —was executed by Brahmā;  kṛṣṇaḥ —Lord Kṛṣṇa;  sahasā —immediately;  avajagāma ha —could understand.
TRANSLATION
When Kṛṣṇa was unable to find the calves and their caretakers, the cowherd boys, anywhere in the forest, He could suddenly understand that this was the work of Lord Brahmā.