The Thief’s Story

Summary

The chapter is a story of a 15 years old thief Hari Singh(who keeps changing his name), who plans to rob Anil, a writer this time. Anil provides him shelter and food and trusts him fully unlike his previous employers. One fine day, Hari managed to steal Anils’ money and he left the house. When Hari reaches the station he does not board the train and returns to Anil’s place. 

While returning, his notes get wet in the rain. After that Hari keeps those notes back in place. When the next day Anil wakes up, he behaves normally with Hari despite knowing about the theft as the notes are still wet.   

Other Information about the author

The story is written by Indian author Ruskin Bond, who is famous for children’s literature in India. He won many awards like Padma Shree, Padma Bushan, and Sahitya academy for his literary work.

Conclusion

The author wants to convey through this story that human values and morals play a vital role in life. Anil places his full trust in Hari Singh, and converts him from a thief to a civilized person without saying it out loud.

 

Textbook Questions Answers

1. Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?

Ans: ‘I’ is used for the narrator of the story, i.e, Hari Singh, who is a 15-year-old thief.

2. What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?

Ans: He is a fairly successful hand at robbing and stealing money from people without getting noticed.

3. What does he get from Anil in return for his work?

Ans: He used to get free food and a place to live in lieu of his service at Anil’s place. 

4. How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?

Ans: The thief thought that Anil would be extremely sad to know about the theft, not because of losing money but rather breaching of the trust.

5. What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?

Ans: Hari has witnessed different reactions from people when they are being robbed. For example, fear will be shown by a greedy man, anger by a rich man, and acceptance by a poor.

6. Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?

Ans: Yes, Anil realized that he had been robbed because notes were still wet while he gave 50 rupees to Hari Singh. However, he behaved normally as if nothing had happened.

Think about it

1. What are Hari Singh’s reactions at the prospect of receiving an education? Do they change overtime? {Hint: compare, for example, the thought: ‘I knew that once I could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what I could achieve’ with these later thoughts:

‘Whole sentences, I knew, could one day bring me more than a few hundred rupees. It was a simple matter to steal and sometimes just as simple to be caught. But to be a really big man, a clever and respected man, was something else.’) What makes him return to Anil?

Ans:  Hari Singh was happy at the prospect of receiving an education and it changed over time. Initially, he wanted to be literate, so that he could become a big limitless thief. Later on, he realized that even being a big cheat would not give him respect and peace in life like Anil( who also had irregular sources of income but was more satisfied). Now Hari wanted to receive an education to be civilized.           .

2. Why does Anil not hand the thief over to the police? Do you think most people would have done so? In what ways is Anil different from such employers?

Ans: Anil does not hand over the thief to the police because he is aware that Hari (the thief) has changed now and wants to live like a civilized member of the society.

No, most people would not have done so. Anil was different from others as he was more patient and had faith in Hari’s changed heart.

3. Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or are there such people in real life?

Ans: Although it is difficult to find people like Anil and Hari Singh in the real world, not impossible. In real life, you would find hardly a thief realizes his mistake and the owner would forgive him easily like Anil. Rather the owner would beat the thief and hand him over to the police.

4. Do you think it is a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer? This explains his behaviour in any way.

Ans: Yes, it is a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer with an irregular source of income and sometimes he used to borrow money and worried about his next income. This explains his behavior that he does not want to get money by doing something unethical like Hari Singh.

5. Have you met anyone like Hari Singh? Can you think and imagine the circumstances that can turn a fifteen year old boy into a thief?

Ans: No, I have not met anyone like Hari Singh as it is rare to find such people. There can be many reasons which can force a fifteen years old boy in such circumstances. These reasons may include poverty, greed to become rich, and sometimes addiction as well.

6. Where is the story set? (You can get clues from the names of the persons and places mentioned in it). Which language or languages are spoken in these places? Do you think the characters in the story spoke to each other in English?

Ans: The story is set in some place in Uttar Pradesh as it was evident that Hari Singh was about to board the Express train to Lucknow. Hindi and other regional dialects are spoken in these places. And I don’t think that the characters spoke in English to each other in English.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why does Hari Singh keep changing his name?

Ans: Hari Singh used to keep changing his name to escape from being caught by the police

2. Why didn’t Hari Singh board the train?

Ans: Hari Singh could not afford to break the trust of Anil who has extreme faith in him.

3. Where did Hari Singh meet Anil?

Ans: Anil and Hari Singh met while they were watching a wrestling match and Hari tried to befriend Anil and asked for a job for himself.

4. Name some other literary works of Ruskin bond.

Ans: Some of the famous novels of Ruskin Bond are: The Blue Umbrella, Funny Side Up, and A Flight of Pigeons.