The Thief’s Story

Question 1.
When and how did Hari Singh meet Anil?
Answer:
Hari Singh met Anil when he was watching a wrestling match. Hari Singh tried to
befriend Anil.

Question 2.
How did Hari Singh succeed in his profession?
Answer:
He would frequently change his name to dupe the police. He would find out a kind
and simple person for his target. He could wait until he had a favourable chance.

Question 3.
Why did Hari Singh change his name every month?
Answer:
Hari Singh was a fifteen year old boy who introduces himself to Anil as Hari Singh.
He was an experienced thief. He changed his name every month for his own safety
from the police and his former employers.

Question 4.
Why did Anil agree to feed Hari Singh?
Answer:
Anil needed a helping hand who could cook for him. When Hari Singh said that he
could cook well, Anil agreed to feed him.

Question 5.
How did the thief realise that Anil knew that he was robbed?
Answer:
When Anil gave him a fifty-rupees note it was still damp. The damp note was telling
the whole story. Hari Singh knew that Anil was intelligent enough to understand what
had happened in the rainy night.

Question 6.
Why was it not easy for the thief to rob Anil?
Answer:
It was not easy for the thief to rob Anil as he was the most trusting person he had
ever seen. The thief knew that it was easy to rob a greedy man because he could
afford to be robbed. But to rob a careless man like Anil sometimes gave no pleasure
of the work as he even did not notice that he had been robbed.

Question 7.
What was the thief s reaction when he took Anil’s money?
Answer:
As the thief got the money he quickly crawled out of the room. When he was on the
road, he began to run. He had the notes at his waist, held them by the string of his
pyjamas. Later on he slowed down to walk and counted the notes. He thought that
with those 600 rupees he could lead a luxurious life like an oil-rich Arab at least for a
week.

Question 8.
How, according to Hari Singh, would the greedy man, the rich man and the poor man
react. when they had lost their goods?
Answer:
Hari Singh had made a study of men’s faces when they had lost their goods.
According to the thief, on losing their goods a greedy man’s face would show fear,
the rich man’s face would show anger and the poor man’s face would show
acceptance.

Question 9.
How did Hari Singh know that Anil had forgiven him?
Answer:
It seems Anil knew about theft but neither his lips nor his eyes showed anything. He
gave him fifty rupees and told him that now he would be paid regularly. He informed
him that he would teach him to write sentences. It shows that Anil had forgiven him.

Question 10.
Why did the thief smile without any effect towards the end of the story?
Answer:
The thief smiled at Anil towards the end of the story in his most appealing way. But
unlike as on previous occasions, this smile was natural and from the innermost
comer of his heart. Being spontaneous, the smile was “without any effect”.

Question 11.
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Answer:
In this story, I refers to the thief.

Question 12.
What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
Answer:
He is “a fairly successful hand” at stealing and robbing people.

Question 13.
What does he get from Anil in return for his work?
Answer:
When Hari asks Anil if he could work for him, Anil replies that he could not pay him.
Finally, they reach an agreement that if he would cook, then Anil would feed him.
However, Anil soon found out that he did not know how to cook. So, he taught him
how to cook and later, how to write his name. He promised he would teach him how
to write whole sentences and also how to add numbers. Apart from this, when Hari
went out to buy the day’s supplies, he would make a profit of a rupee a day.
Question 14.
How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Answer:
The thief thinks that on discovering the theft, Anil’s face would show a touch of
sadness. The sadness would not be for the loss of money, but for the loss of trust.

Question 15.
What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?
Answer:
In his short career as a thief, he has studied reactions of so many people when they
are robbed off their belongings. He has Observed that the greedy people showed
fear; the rich showed anger and the poor people showed acceptance.

Question 16.
Does Anil realize that he has been robbed?
Answer:
Yes, Anil has realized that he has been robbed. He knew this probably because all
the notes were wet and damp because of rain. However, he did not say anything to
the thief and behaved normally.

Question 1.
“Everyone must have a chance to reform”. How did Anil worked upon these values
and succeeded?
Answer:
Hari Singh had all the sharp wickedness to rob a person. He knew how to rob and
whom to rob. He chose Anil for his purpose because the later was simple and easy,
to approach. But when Anil started teaching him how to write words and then
sentences and adding numbers, a good man in Hari Singh started dreaming of a life
full of honestly and dignity. He got the chance to rob, he robed but the dream of
being educated did not let him go. He returned to be educated.

Question 2.
‘Money cannot make a man as much as education can’. Elucidate this statement.
Answer:
Hari Singh had all the sharp wickedness to rob a person. He knew how to rob and
whom to rob. He chose Anil for his purpose because the later was simple and easy,
to approach. But when Anil started teaching him how to write words and then
sentences and adding numbers, a good man in Hari Singh started dreaming of a life
full of honestly and dignity. He got the chance to rob, he robed but the dream of
being educated did not let him go. He returned to be educated.

Question 3.
“Love, trust and compassion transformed Hari Singh”. Explain with reference to the
story “The Thief s story”.
Answer:
It is love and sympathy which has transformed Hari Singh into a respectable person.
Anil Singh’s job was to write for a magazine. His income was not regular. He led an
easy going life. Anil can easily understand that he had been robbed when he found
the notes wet. Anil does not react but rather offers him fifty rupees in the morning.
Initially also Anil promised Hari Singh to teach him cooking as well as to write
sentences. It was thus good action of Anil that helped Hari Singh to forget about the
money and gave more importance to education.

Question 4.
If you were Anil, would you have pardoned the thief? If Yes/No why?
Answer:
Once Hari Singh, a seasonal thief met Anil at a wrestling match. He gave Anil an
artificial smile and asked for work in case he could feed him. Anil agreed but on
every purchase, Hari Singh made a profit. One day Hari Singh stole Anil’s money
which was kept-under the mattress and left for the station. But the train left. In
between, a good sense prevailed on Hari Singh. He slipped the money under the
mattress and slept.

After tea, Anil gave Hari Singh a fifty rupee not and promised to pay him regularly.
The note was still wet. Anil understood everything but did not expose the thief s
doing. If I had been Anil, I would have pardoned him and traced the reasons for his
thievish nature. I would give him an opportunity to mend his ways after serving a
warning on the thief.

Question 5.
“A thief in Hari Singh changed into a good human being”. How far was Anil’s
considerate nature responsible for this transformation?
Answer:
Hari Singh was an experienced thief who had robbed many people at such a tender
age of fifteen years.’ He joined Anil as a cook with a motive of stealing money. But
Anil was a kind and considerate person. He employed Hari Singh and taught him
how to cook. He trusted him like his younger brother. He was always sympathetic
towards him. Hari Singh found it was very difficult to rob such a good human being.
He stole money but his conscience did not allow him to run away. He came back and
became a . good human being. There was a change in his heart. Thus, it was Anil’s
considerate nature which was responsible for this transformation.

Question 6.
Do you think there is a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer? Does this
explain his behaviour in any way?
Answer:
Hari Singh’s observation about Anil having irregular income and Anil’s statement about his
sale of a book to a publisher indicates that he is a struggling writer. He lives life according to
the amount of money he gets at a given time. When he has the money he enjoys eating out
with his friends. When he is having less money then he even doesn’t pay salary to Hari
Singh. This shows that he easily makes adjustments in his life without letting anything bother
him.