Class 10 English Chapter 2 Question Answers - The Thief`s Story

Ruskin Bond's "The Thief's Story," a chapter in Class 10 English, goes beyond the tale of a thief. Instead, it delves into fundamental human values and relationships. Ultimately, the lesson of the story is that human values and relationships hold significant importance in life and have the power to transform individuals. Let's have a look at some Long Answer Questions of the chapter in this document.  

Q1: Anil plays a major role in the transformation of Hari Singh. Comment on the statement by highlighting the values possessed by Anil, which touched Hari’s heart and made him return to his honest ways of earning his livelihood. Write in about 100-120 words.

Ans: Anil was a struggling writer who became friends with Hari Singh. Hari Singh was an experienced 15-year-old thief. He found Anil an easy target to steal. Anil offered to stay with him and to teach him how to read and write. Gradually, Anil develops trust in Hari Singh. But Hari Singh was waiting for the right opportunity to do what he was best at. After stealing money, he tried to go away forever, but some inner voice stopped him from doing so. 
He returned to Anil because he wanted to live a life of respect. Anil did not show that he knew the incident and accepted Hari with open hands. Thus, a well-intentioned person, Anil changed Had Singh and brought him on the right path. The story shows that trust and the spirit to forgive someone can bring big changes in someone’s life.

Q2: How did Hari Singh come into contact with Anil? He breached Anil’s trust in him, but why did Anil not only forgive him but also promise to pay him regularly?

Ans: Hari Singh was still a thief when he met Anil. He was just fifteen but was an experienced and fairly successful hand. Hari humoured Anil and wished to work for him. Anil had no regular income and couldn’t afford to pay him. He asked Hari Singh if he knew how to cook. Hari Singh lied that he knew it. The boy was totally worthless, and Anil asked him to go away. But the boy didn’t budge, and Anil retained him and also promised to teach him to write sentences and add numbers.
They say old habits die hard. After all, Hari was a thief. He made a rupee every day from buying the day’s supplies. Trusting, Anil gave him a key to the door. The boy thief saw him tuck the money under the mattress. Hari Singh stole the money and went away. He counted them and found that they were 600 in the fifties. Anil knew everything about the theft. He even knew how the money was placed back under the mattress by Hari Singh. But the reformer, Anil, prevailed over him. He didn’t hand the boy thief over to the police. Nor did he punish him by throwing him out of the job. Love for education transformed Hari Singh from a thief to a reformed young man. Anil rewarded him by giving him a fifty-rupee note and promising to pay him regularly.

Q3: "I couldn’t cook his meals, run to the bazaar or learn to write whole sentences anymore." Hari Singh could not at once come out of the idea of working for Anil. Do you think he accepted the joy of earning money by following the path of honesty? Explain the values highlighted through Hari's character in 100-120 words.

Ans: When Hari Singh saw Anil for the first time, he found him to be simple, easy-going, kind, and easy to fool around. He thought he would be the right person to rob. He offered himself to work for him. When Anil said that he could not pay him, he asked if he could feed him. Anil replied that if he knew how to cook, then he would let him work in his house. When he stayed there for a month, he realized Anil was the most difficult person to rob as he was the most trusting person. One night, he stole six hundred rupees but returned back to Anil as he realized that getting an education would be far more important in life than money. Hence, he accepted the joy of earning money by following the path of honesty.

Q4: ‘He was the most trusting person I had ever met.’ Justify Hari Singh's statement about his benefactor, Anil. Did he breach Anil’s trust?

Ans: After his first introduction, Hari Singh understood Anil’s nature and his character rather well. He lied that he knew how to cook. Still, Anil allowed Hari to work for him. Even at the age of 15, Hari Singh was an experienced and successful hand. He knew all the tricks of his trade. He made one rupee every day from buying the day’s supplies. Anil knew it but didn’t mind. Anil was really a trusting person. He had given Hari a key to the door and he could come and go as he pleased. But it was `so difficult to rob him’. It is easy to rob a greedy man. It was difficult to rob a careless and trusting man like Anil. Sometimes, he didn’t even notice that he had been robbed. That took all the pleasure out of Hari Singh’s work.
Anil was no fool. He knew all about the theft, when and how it was committed. Neither his lips nor eyes showed that he saw Hari placing the money back under the mattress. Trust begets trust. Ultimately, the boy thief realized that the only person who could help him was the man whom he had robbed a few hours ago. Naturally, Anil was the most trusting man Hari Singh had ever met in his life. He forgot the Tut Chase’s growing breach of his trust but rewarded Hari by giving him a fifty-rupee note and promising to pay him regularly.

Q5: How did Hari Singh happen to stay with Anil? How did he stay with Anil before he tried to rob him?

Ans: Though Hari Singh was only fifteen years old yet he was a seasoned and successful thief. He met Anil at a wrestling match. He decided to rob him. He got himself introduced to Anil. He lied that he could cook. Anil allowed Hari Singh to stay with him. He would not pay but feed him. Anil did not turn him away though he cooked hopeless food. Anil promised to teach Hari Singh to cook as well as to write. Due to lack of a regular income, Anil did not pay him any money. Hari Singh prepared the morning tea. He cheated Anil in the shopping and made about a rupee a day. Anil trusted him completely though he knew everything. It was quite difficult to rob Anil, a trusting and careless person. Anyhow he tried to rob him because his thievish nature urged him to do so.

Q6: If you were Anil, would you have pardoned the thief? If Yes/No why?

Ans: 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.

Q7: Give a character sketch of Anil. Did he know all about the theft? If so, why did he keep Had Singh again to work for him?

Ans: 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 about knowing 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.

Q8: Describe the sequence of events that took place after Had Singh stole the money. Evaluate Hari Singh as a thief and as a human being.

Ans:

• Hari Singh was a seasoned thief, even at the age of fifteen. He knew all the tricks of his trade. As a thief, he knew how to hoodwink his master and make one rupee every day out of buying of the day’s supplies. And he, a seasoned thief, stole 600 rupees from under the mattress. 
• With that money, he could live like a rich Arab for a week or two. He came to the station but deliberately missed the Lucknow Express. He was struggling with himself. He came to the ‘maiden’ and was drenched in the rain on a chilly November night. 
• He had no friends and did not like to go to a hotel either. He was in a dilemma. Then good sense prevailed, and he decided to go back to the man whom he had robbed a few hours earlier. His love for education was the motivating force that led him to this decision.
• So, as a thief, he was quite an experienced and fairly successful hand. But the love, generosity, and human compassion of Anil helped in transforming him into a better human being. He realized the value of education. Only education could give him respect, status, and money.