PRITAM’S TUTORIAL (FOR ENGLISH)

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THE THIEF’S STORY
1. Describe Hari Singh. Why did he want to become an educated man?

Hari Singh was a thief. Even at the age of fifteen, he was a seasoned, experienced and a successful thief. He used to
change his name every month to avoid the police and his former employers. He knew all the tricks of his trade. He knew
how to steal money even when the money was tucked under the victim’s bed.

He was an uneducated person. He made his living by stealing and cheating others. He thought if he were educated
there would be no limit to what he could achieve.

2. Why did Hari Singh not make many friends?

Hari Singh did not have friends as he believed that friends were more trouble than help. Moreover, he did not want to
make anyone curious.

3. Why did Hari Singh choose Anil to be his next victim?

Hari Singh was an experienced thief. He found Anil, an easy-going, kind and simple man, the correct person for his
purpose. He found him an easy target to win confidence.

4. How and when did Hari Singh meet Anil?

Hari Singh met Anil during a wrestling match. He found Anil easy going, kind and simple enough to suit his purpose.
Anil’s trusting nature could help him with stealing. Therefore, he offered himself to work for Anil. Anil had no regular
income and couldn’t afford to pay him. Still, Hari Singh exploited Anil’s generosity and forced Anil to keep him in his
house.

5. Why did Hari Singh tell a lie about cooking?

Hari Singh knew that Anil would hire him only if he could cook. However, Hari did not know how to cook. Still, as he
wanted to somehow rob Anil, he told the lie to gain entry into Anil’s house.

6. Why did Hari Singh smile in his most appealing way?

Hari Singh had to cook food for Anil. He did not know anything about cooking. Anil could not eat it. He threw it to a
stray dog. He asked the boy to go away from his house. But the boy did not want to leave him. So, he smiled in his most
appealing way.

7. Why did Anil hire Hari Singh?

Anil hired Hari Singh because Hari Singh himself expressed his desire to work for him. When Anil told him that he could
not pay him, Hari Singh asked him if he could feed him. Anil replied that if he knew how to cook, then he might work for
him.

8. How did Hari Singh feel working for Anil?

Hari Singh felt quite pleasant working for Anil. He would make tea for him in the morning. He would take his time for
the day’s supplies.

9. How did Anil get that substantial money that he brought home in a bundle? How did it tempt Hari Singh?

Anil had no regular income. He wrote for magazines. One day he came home with a small bundle of notes. He had just
sold a book to a publisher. Hari saw Anil tuck the money under the mattress of his bed.

The large amount of money and his unsuspecting master made Hari Singh decide to steal it.

10. What are the different reactions of the people when they are robbed?
 According to Hari Singh, different people react differently upon being robbed. The greedy man displays fear, the rich
man shows anger, and the poor man shows acceptance. However, a trusting man like Anil would be sad due to the loss
of trust.

11. Why did Hari Singh justify himself to rob Anil?

Hari Singh was experienced and clever enough to justify his actions. Hari Singh told himself that he was out of practice.
He must rob and do some ‘real work’. If he didn’t take the money, Anil would waste it on his friends. Moreover, Anil
didn’t pay him.

12. Why was it so difficult for Hari Singh to rob a trusting and unsuspecting person like Anil?

Han Singh was an experienced and a fairly successful hand. It was easy to rob a greedy man because he could afford to
be robbed. But it was very difficult to rob a careless and unsuspecting man like Anil. The unsuspecting Anil would not
even notice that he had been robbed. That could take all the pleasure out of the work of theft.

13. How did Hari Singh steal the money that Anil got from selling his book to a publisher?

Hari Singh saw with his own eyes how Anil tucked the bundle of money under the mattress of his bed. When Anil was
asleep, Hari Singh crept up to the bed. He slid his hand under the mattress and drew the money out of the bundle
without making a sound. Anil sighed in his sleep and turned on his side, towards him. Han Singh got startled and quickly
came out of the room.

14. Describe Hari Singh’s dilemma at the station.

When he reached the station, Hari Singh did not stop at the ticket office because he never bought a ticket earlier. The
Lucknow Express was just moving out. He could have jumped into one of the carriages. But he hesitated. Perhaps, he
had not made a final decision in this regard.

15. What did Hari Singh think when he was standing alone on the deserted platform?

Hari Singh was in a dilemma. The train had gone. He was standing alone on the deserted platform. He had no idea
where to spend the night. He had no friends. Nor did he want to go to a hotel. The only person whom he knew and who
could perhaps help him was the man whom he had robbed a few hours ago, that is Anil.

16. What did Hari Singh do in the ‘maidan’ and how did the notes become damp?

From the station, Hari Singh found himself in the ‘maidan’. He sat down on a bench. The November night was chilly. The
heavy rain added to Han Singh’s discomfort. His shirt and pyjamas stuck to his skin. He sat down in the shelter of the
clock tower. He felt for the notes. They were damp from the rain.

17. Why did Hari Singh not go to his friend’s house or a hotel just after he missed the train?

Hari Singh did not have any friend and he did not want to make anyone curious about staying at one of the small hotels
near the station.

18. Why did he feel nervous about going back to Anil’s room? What made him think that he could live like an oil-rich
Arab for some time?

Hari Singh decided to go back to Anil and replace the stolen money under the mattress. But he felt nervous about going
there. He thought that it was much easier to steal something than to return it undetected.

Hari Singh was a poor boy. He stole Anil’s bundle of notes. It was a sum of 600 rupees. Hari Singh thought that he could
live in luxury like an oil-rich Arab for some time on this stolen money.

19. How and when did Hari Singh put the stolen money back at the same place from where he had stolen?

Hari Singh came back to Anil’s room. He was feeling quite nervous. He crept to the head of the bed. His hand found the
edge of the mattress under which he secretly slipped the notes.

20. Why didn’t Anil hand Hari Singh over to the police even when he knew all about the theft? What did he do?

Anil was careless and unsuspecting but not a fool. He knew how the boy stole money out of daily shopping. He also
knew all about the theft of his money. He could have easily handed him over to the police. However, he didn’t want to
ruin Hari Singh’s life. He wanted to give an education to the unfortunate boy.
 Anil gave a fifty rupee note and promised to pay him regularly. Neither his lips nor his eyes showed anything about the
theft.

21. How can you say Hari Singh understood the value of education?

Hari Singh clearly understood the value of education. Education could bring him respect, status and money. If he learnt
how to write like an educated person, the sky would be the limit for him. In the heat and excitement of the theft, he
forgot all about it. He decided to have an education at any cost and went back to Anil.

22. How was Hari Singh’s ‘appealing smile’ at the end different from similar smiles of his on earlier occasions? Why did
he smile?

On earlier occasions, Hari Singh’s ‘appealing smile’ had been artificial. It was full of flattery. But in the end, his smile was
real. It was natural and appealing.

The thief was under tension that his master would be angry with him for stealing the money. But Anil did not express
any anger. He said that he would pay him regularly and would remain to continue teaching him full sentences. This
made him tension free and he smiled without any effort.

23. Love, human sympathy and education can transform even a thief. How could Anil bring such a change in Hari Singh?

Man is a product of circumstances and environment. Hari Singh was just a boy of fifteen but was an experienced and
fairly a successful hand. Circumstances made him a thief. In spite of being no use to Anil, he was retained to work for
him. They say old habits die hard. After all, a thief couldn’t leave stealing and cheating. He made a rupee every day from
the buying of the day’s supplies. However, Anil was not a fool. He knew everything and also all about the theft. But he
was kind, large-hearted and full of human sympathy. He taught the unfortunate boy to write his name. Ile also
promised him to write sentences and add numbers. This left a deep impression on the boy-thief. lie started realising
that education could bring him respect and money.

Hari Singh breached Anil’s trust but Anil was all forgiving and compassionate. In the heat and excitement of theft, Hari
Singh forgot about education. Then came the true realisation and transformation. The boy-thief realised that the only
man who could help him was the man he had robbed a few hours ago. Then he realised the value of education that
could give him respect and more money than he could get by stealing. He realised where he should go. Large-hearted
Anil not only forgave him but also gave him a fifty-rupee note, and promised to pay him regularly.

24. Give a character-sketch of Anil. Did he know all about the theft? If so, why did he keep Hari Singh again to work for
him?

Anil is a thorough gentleman. He is generous, large-hearted and understanding. He is twenty-five years old and
unmarried. He doesn’t have a regular income. He writes for magazines. When he receives a cheque, he goes out and
celebrates. Anil is a simple man who is ever-ready to help even a worthless boy like Hari Singh. He knows that Hari
Singh lied that he knew how to cook. Still, he allows him to work for him. Anil is a progressive young man. Being a writer
himself, he knows the value of education. He teaches Hari Singh to write his name. He promises to teach him to write
whole sentences and to add numbers.

Anil knew all about the theft. He knew how and when Hari Singh stole the money and put it back under the mattress.
Neither his lips nor his eyes showed anything about it. He didn’t want to hand Hari Singh over to the police. It would
have mined him. The thief had no option but to return to such a generous and large-hearted person. The reformer, Anil
rewarded the boy-thief by giving him a fifty-rupee note. He also promised to pay him regularly.