The Thief’s Story by Ruskin Bond

The Thief’s Story by  Ruskin  Bond

Read and Find Out (Page 8)

Q1. Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?

Ans:  ‘I’ refers to the narrator of the story .

Q2. What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?

Ans:  He is a fairly successful hand at robbing people even at the age of 15 years.

Q3. What does he get from Anil in return for his work?

Ans:  Anil has taught him how to cook. He has also taught him how to write his name and also promised to teach him how to write whole sentences and add numbers.  But the thief in return has robbed Anil of one rupee everyday while he went to buy provisions for him. Moreover, Anil gave him food in return for his domestic help.

Read and Find Out ( Page 10)

Q4. How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?

Ans:  The thief thinks that on discovering the theft, Anil would be grappled with sadness.  The sadness would not emerge out of loss of money, but due to loss of trust that Anil has reposed on him.

Q5. What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?

In his stint as a thief he has made a study of men’s faces when they lose their goods. He says that the greedy men show fear; the rich men show anger and the poor men show acceptance when they experience any type of loss.

 Q6. Does Anil realize that he has been robbed?

Yes, Anil has realized that he has been robbed. He knew this probably because when he hands over a fifty-rupee note to the narrator, he discovers that it is wet and damp.  However, Anil does not say anything to the thief and assures him that henceforth he will be paid regularly for the service he renders to him.

Extra Questions

7. How did Hari Singh know that Anil had forgiven him?

ANS: Hari Singh realised that Anil knew about the theft because he found some of the notes still wet. He gave him a fifty-rupee-note and did not mention anything about the theft. This made him feel that Anil had forgiven him.

8. Why, according to Hari Singh, is it easier to rob a greedy man than a careless person like Anil?

ANS:  Hari Singh has correlated theft with the sense of satisfaction, a thief gets pleasure when a person comes to know that he has been robbed. Hari Singh says that a greedy man can afford to be robbed too whereas a careless man at times may never come to know that he has lost something or he has been robbed. This carelessness, on the part of a person robbed, deprives a thief of the pleasure which he gets out of theft.

 9. What was the thief’s immediate reaction when he stole Anil’s money?

ANS:  Hari Singh stole six hundred rupees and crawled out of the room. He felt extremely excited to have robbed Anil. He kept the notes in his waist held there by the string of his pyjama. He felt as if he was an oil rich Arab for a week or two.

10. What made the thief come back to Anil?

ANS: Hari Singh came back to Anil because Anil trusted him and ignored his flaws. He fed him properly and was soft towards him. Moreover, he did not want to miss the chance of being educated. Education could certainly make him a better man. 

11. Why did Hari not make friends?

ANS: Hari Singh was a thief. He did not believe in making friends as they were more troublesome than help. He did not stay at one place for a long time. Therefore, he could not make friends.

12.Why did Anil forgive Hari Singh?

ANS: Anil was a large-hearted man. He knew that Hari Singh was a thief. But he forgave him because he wanted to give him another chance.

Long Questions

Q1.Hari Singh decided to return the stolen money to Anil. It shows that everyone has some inner conscience and cherished values which they do not put in practice. Do you agree? Was it the awakening of his conscience that made him return the money?

        

ANS:     Hari Singh’s conscience pricked him. He had a guilty conscience. He didn’t want to hurt him. Hari stole money because of his compulsive habit, but now he wanted to reform himself. He wanted to become a reputed member of the society. He vowed never to repeat the mistake again. It shows that everyone has inner conscience. We have cherished values which become dormant when we do not put them to practice or our circumstances don’t allow them to be put to practice. Yes, it was the awakening of Hari Singh’s conscience that made him return the stolen money.

Q2.Love is the basic human value that can transform evil into  goodness. How did this value of Anilchanged Hari Singh?

ANS:     Love and sympathy are positive qualities. If we have love and sympathy for a person, that person will try to win our trust and confidence. He will curb his baser instincts and try to prove worthy of our confidence in him. It was the love of Anil that transformed Hari Singh. He treated him kindly, reposed his faith in him and Hari Singh became an honest man. Hari Singh was tempted once. He ran away with money. But when he recalled the faith, love, compassion and kindness of Anil, his heart changed. He decided to come back and return the stolen money. Anil knew that Hari Singh had stolen money. He could have handed him over to the police but he showed sympathy and kindness. This transformed Hari Singh. He gave up stealing and decided to become a good person.

        

Q3. Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or, are there such people in real life? Do you think presence of such people can free the society from day-to-day crime?

        

Ans: People like Anil and Hari Singh are the real characters. There are hundreds of thieves like Hari Singh who master the art of stealing from a very young age and win the trust and confidence of their employers. Then they rob them of their wealth and leave cities one after the other. In the same way, people like Anil are also real who are very generous and have faith even in the strangers. I agree that if there are people like Anil who have a positive approach to life, there will be less crime in our society. He transformed a thief by his love, sympathy and compassion for him. If he had handed him over to the police, Hari Singh would have become a hardcore criminal and a threat to society.

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Concept Creates Conviction