02. The Thief's Story

SUMMARY

The Thief's Story is written by Ruskin Bond. Hari Singh and Anil are the main characters of this story. Hari Singh was a young boy of fifteen years old and narrator of this story. He was a thief. One day at a wrestling match, he came across Anil. He won Anil‘s confidence andc Came to his house as a servant. Anil was a writer and he did not earn much. So, Hari Singh agreed to work for him only for food. Hari Singh did not know how to cook. The first meal which he cooked for Anil was so bad. Anil gave it to a stray dog and told Hari Singh to be off. But Hari‘s appealing smile made Anil give up his decision to turn him out. In the morning Anil made tea and then he brought the day‘s supplies from the market and made profit of a rupee. Anil had no regular income. He earned something by writing articles and stories for magazines. But one day Anil came home with a bundle of notes. He told Hari that he had earned six hundred rupees by selling one of his books to a publisher. Hari‘s mouth watered at the sight of money. So He decided to steal that money. Anil kept the bundle of the money under his mattress and went to sleep. Now Hari Singh went into the room and silently took the money under the mattress. He went to the railway station to catch the train to Lucknow. But some inner voice stopped him from doing so and he missed the train. Then after Hari Singh walked in the bazaar. Soon it started raining and Hari was drenched completely. Hari Singh went to a maidan (field) and sit there on a bench and Remembered Anil. He imagined how sad Anil would be on finding the money stolen. Hari remembered that Anil taught him to write his name and he promised him to teach him how to write a whole sentence. He thought that without the education he would remain a thief. Therefore he decided to return to Anil to live a life of respect. Anil didn’t show that he knew about the theft and accept Hari Singh.

Read and Find Out – I

Q1.   Who does ‘l’ refer to in this story?
Ans : In this story, 'I' refers to Hari Singh, a thief and the narrator of this story.

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

Ans : He ( Hari Singh ) was “a fairly successful hand” at stealing and robbing people.

Q3.   What does he get from Anil in return for his work?
Ans : He ( Hari Singh ) gets food from Anil for his work. Anil taught him to write his name and promised him to teach him how to write a whole sentence and how to add numbers.

Read and Find Out – II

Q1.    How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Ans : The thief ( Hari Singh ) thought that on discovering the theft, Anil’s face would show a touch of sadness not because of the loss of money but because of the loss of trust he had on Hari.

Q2.   What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?
Ans : In his short career as a thief, he had made a study of men's faces when they had lost their goods or they are robbed. The greedy man showed fear; the rich man showed anger: the poor man showed acceptance.

Q3. Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?
Ans : Yes, Anil had realized that he had been robbed. Because all the notes were wet and damp from the rain, as Anil gave fifty rupees note to Hari Singh which was still damp.

Think about it

Q1. What are Hari Singh’s reactions to the prospect of receiving an education? Do they change over time? (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 has a positive attitude to the prospect of receiving education. However, his reaction undergoes a change overtime. In the beginning, when he started his education, he believes that once he is able to write like an educated man, he can work wonders as a thief and achieve a great deal of success in life. His attitude towards life at this stage is still materialistic and he thinks only about earning a lot of money with the help of education.
However, later on, his attitude matures. He does not attach much importance to money. Now, he thinks in terms of becoming a great, clever and respectable man in society. He believes that Anil is a right guide for him and thus chooses to return to him and grow under his tutelage as an educated person in the real sense. He now perceives education as a means to gaining recognition and respect in society.

Q2. Why does not Anil 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 react on theft. He knew about the theft but did not hand the thief over to the police because the thief ( Hari Singh ) had put the money back at its place. It shows that the thief had realized his fault. I think therefore Anil gave him One more chance and forgave him.
I think in today’s world most people wouldn’t have done so.
Anil is different from such employers because he is very understanding. Even after knowing that he had been robbed he didn’t react on iit

Talk about it

Q1. Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or are there such people in real life?

Q2. Do you think it a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer? Does this explain his behaviour in any way? The text includes certain details that prove that Anil is a struggling writer.

Ans : Anil has a meagre, irregular and uncertain income. He is always worried about his next cheque and does not have any definite work profile. He plainly tells Hari Singh that he wouldn't be able to pay him any wages in return for the services. Hari Singh too finds Anil's work to be a queer one. This position of Anil as a struggling writer explains his behaviour in some ways. He pardons Hari Singh for having cooked a terrible meal because he could relate to the boy's desperation to find work. On getting a bulk payment of six hundred rupees, he at once shares the news with Hari Singh. Hari Singh makes an observation that Anil would spend money on his friends whenever he had some. This large heartedness comes usually to those people who do not have any means to accumulate wealth.

Q3. 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, yet I haven't met anyone like Hari Singh, but from the information gathered via newspapers I can imagine the circumstances that can turn a fifteen-year-old boy into a thief. Adolescent boys like Hari Singh have no means of sustenance or family support. Driven by poverty, they are compelled to crime for survival. Crime is the easiest way to earn their livelihood since education is elusive to them. Another reason for their taking to crime is the absence of proper guidance and counselling with protection. Such young children are soft targets of anti-social elements. They are exploited and pushed on the road to crime at a tender age. Once into this mire, these young boys do not know the way out and eventually get trapped. Even the social welfare organisations find it difficult to rescue such boys.

Q4. 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 seems to have been set in Northern India most probably in Uttar Pradesh state of India. Names like Anil and Hari Singh are commonly found in Northern India. Besides it November nights in Uttar Pradesh are quite chilly as described in the story. In this part of the country, primarily Hindi is spoken and the characters of the story Anil and Hari Singh, too spoke to each other in Hindi. Mentioning a word like maidaan (field) suggests that the two characters speak to each other in Hindi.