The Thief’s Story NCERT Solutions Class 10 English

This post, “The Thief’s Story NCERT Solutions Class 10 English,” provides comprehensive NCERT solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 2: The Thief’s Story (Ruskin Bond). We recommend reading the summary of The Thief’s Story first to understand the chapter’s questions much better!

READ AND FIND OUT (Page 8)

Q.1. Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Ans. ‘I’ refers to Hari Singh, the fifteen-year-old thief who is also the narrator of the story. Hari Singh was not his real name; he changed his name every month to stay ahead of the police and his former employers.

Q.2. What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
Ans. He is a fairly successful hand at stealing. Though only fifteen, he was already an experienced thief who knew how to win people’s confidence and rob them.

Q.3. What does he get from Anil in return for his work?
Ans. Anil could not pay him any wages. In return for his work, he gave Hari Singh food, a place to sleep on the balcony, and promised to teach him to cook, to write whole sentences and to add numbers. Besides this, Hari Singh made about a rupee a day by cheating on the shopping.

READ AND FIND OUT (Page 10)

Q.1. How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Ans. The thief thinks that Anil’s face will not show anger or fear, but only a touch of sadness, not for the loss of money, but for the loss of trust.

Q.2. What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?
Ans. From his study of men’s faces he says that a greedy man shows fear, a rich man shows anger, and a poor man shows acceptance when he loses his goods.

Q.3. Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?
Ans. Yes, Anil realises it. Next morning he gives Hari Singh a fifty-rupee note that is still wet from the night’s rain, and says that they will start writing sentences that day. This shows he knew about the theft and the return of the money, but he said nothing about it.

The Thief’s Story Think About It Question Answer

Q.1. What are Hari Singh’s reactions to the prospect of receiving an education? Do they change over time? What makes him return to Anil?
Ans. At first Hari Singh sees education only as a tool for greater profit. He thinks that once he can write like an educated man, there would be no limit to what he could achieve; that is, he could cheat people more cleverly. Later his attitude changes completely. Sitting alone in the rain, he realises that whole sentences could one day bring him much more than a few hundred rupees. He understands that stealing is easy but being a big, clever and respected man is something far greater. It is this desire to learn to read and write, and to become a respectable man, that makes him return to Anil and quietly put the money back.

Q.2. 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 hand him over to the police because he understands that the boy had returned the money out of guilt and a genuine wish to change. Punishment would have pushed him back into crime, while forgiveness gave him a fresh start. Most people would certainly have handed the boy over to the police, or at least dismissed him at once. Anil is different because he is kind, trusting and forgiving. He treats Hari Singh as a human being rather than a servant, teaches him to read and write, and does not even mention the theft. He believes in reforming a person, not in punishing him.

The Thief’s Story Talk About It Question Answer

Q.1. Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or are there such people in real life?
Ans. Such people are found in real life too. There are many kind-hearted people like Anil who trust others, forgive mistakes and help the needy to improve their lives. Likewise there are many children like Hari Singh who turn to crime because of poverty, hunger or lack of family support, but who long to live an honest life if someone gives them a chance.

Q.2. Do you think it a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer? Does this explain his behaviour in any way?
Ans. Yes, it is a significant detail. As a struggling writer Anil earns money by fits and starts and knows what it means to be short of money, so he can sympathise with a poor boy. Being a writer, he is also observant and understands human nature. That is why he can see the goodness hidden in Hari Singh and chooses to reform him with quiet kindness rather than expose him.

Q.3. Have you met anyone like Hari Singh? Can you imagine the circumstances that can turn a fifteen-year-old boy into a thief?
Ans. Many such children can be seen at railway stations, markets and traffic signals. Poverty, hunger, unemployment, the death or cruelty of parents, lack of education and bad company can easily turn a boy of fifteen into a thief. Such children steal not out of wickedness but for survival, and with love, education and opportunity most of them can be brought back to an honest life.

Q.4. Where is the story set? Which languages are spoken in these places? Do you think the characters spoke to each other in English?
Ans. The story is set in India, in a north Indian town. The names Hari Singh, Anil, the Jumna Sweet Shop, the maidan and the Lucknow Express show that it is somewhere near Delhi or Lucknow, in the Hindi-speaking belt. The people of these places speak Hindi and Urdu. The characters must have talked to each other in Hindi; the story has only been written in English by Ruskin Bond.

Glossary (Quick Revision)