10th Std The thief's story

Read the extracts given below carefully and answer the questions that follow:

1.”I hurried back to the room feeling very nervous, for it is much easier to steal something than to return undetected”.

(a) Who is the speaker of this line?

(b) Why was the speaker feeling nervous?

(c) Why was it difficult for the speaker to return the money?

(d) What is the view of Hari regarding theft?

Ans. (a) Han, a young boy is the speaker of this line who is a thief

(b) Because he was keeping back the stolen money and feared to get caught.

(c) He feared to get caught while keeping it back.

(d) It is much easier to steal something than to return undetected.

2.”I could come and go as I pleased. He was the most trusting person I had ever met”.

(a) Other than the freedom of moment what else does the speaker feel happy about?

(b) What does the speaker mean by ‘most trusting person’?

(c) Who is the speaker speaking about?

(d) What character traits of the master does this line reveal?

Ans. (a) He was free to come and go when he pleased. Moreover, he was trusted by Anil.

(b) Anil trusted him completely.

(c) Anil, Hari Singh’s master.

(d) Anil is a caring, kind-hearted, compassionate, understanding and trusting person.

3. He took me to his room over the Jumna Sweet Shop and told me I could sleep on the balcony. But the meal I cooked that night must have been terrible because Anil gave it to a stray dog and told me to be oft but I just hung around, smiling in my most appealing way, and he couldn’t help laughing.

(a) What does ‘I’ refer to?

(b) Where did Mil take him?

(c) How did Anil react when Hari cooked a bad meal?

(d) How did Hari respond to his reaction?

Ans. (a) ‘I’ refers to Hari Singh.

(b) Anil took him to the room where he stayed, over Jumna sweet shop.

(c) Anil gave the food to the stray dogs and asked Hari to leave.

(d) Han kept on smiling appealingly.

4. Well, it’s time I did some real work, I told myself, and I’m out of practice. And if I don’t take the money, he’ll only waste it on his friends. After all, he doesn’t even pay me.

(a) What did he tell himself?

(b) Why did Hari decide to steal?

(c) Does Anil pay Hari a regular salary?

(d) What justification does Hari Singh give for stealing Anil’s money?

Ans. (a) He told himself that whatever he did was correct.

(b) He thought his owner would waste the money M y on his friends and was not paying him his salary. He could use the money for his own use.

(c) No, Anil did not pay n regular salary to Hair.

(d) If he did not steal, Anil would waste the money on his friends. Moreover, he did not pay him any salary so far.

Short Answer Type Important Questions

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:

1. Why did Hari Singh not make many friends?

Ans. 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.

2. Why did Hari Singh decide to come back to Anil?

Ans.Had Singh decided to come back to Anil because he felt that when Anil would come to know about the theft, he would feel sad, not for the loss of money but for the loss of trust. He did not want to lose his trust.

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

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

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

Ans. 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.

5. Why was it difficult for Hari Singh to rob Anil?

Ans. It was difficult to rob Anil because he was the most trusting person Hari Singh had ever met. According to Hari Singh, it’s easy to rob a greedy man because he can afford to be robbed but it’s difficult to rob a careless man because he doesn’t even notice that he’s been robbed and that takes all the pleasure out of the work.

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

Ans. Hari Singh said that he could cook but when he cooked the meal at night, it was so terrible that Anil gave it to a stray dog and told him to be off. But then Anil patted him and said that he would teach him to cook.

7. Why was the thief able to steal from Anil easily?

Ans. Anil was a person who trusted Hari Singh easily. Also, he seemed to be a slightly careless person. Thus, his gullibility and trusting nature made it easy for Hari to rob him.

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

Ans. 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.

9. Why did Hari Singh feel bad after stealing the money?

Ans. Anil had trusted Hari Singh completely and also taught him how to cook. Anil also started teaching him how to read and write. Thus, when Hari stole money from Anil,his conscience pricked him as he had broken Anil’s trust.

10. What are the different reactions of the people when they are robbed?

Ans. 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 Anil decide to pay Hari Singh regularly?

Ans. Anil handed Hari a fifty-rupee note as payment for his services. He went on to that since he had started making money, he would pay Hari regularly. However, I knew about Hari and did not want him to be tempted again for want of money.

12. Describe Hari Singh, the young and successful thief.

Ans. Hari Singh was a fifteen-year-old boy who had already gained much expertise in the field of thievery. He knew how to find prospective victims, and used his intelligence to get close to them. Even when he was being taught how to read and write, his first thought was how he could use it to his benefit while thieving.

13. Why did Anil hire Hari Singh?

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

14. How did Hari Singh realize that Anil knew about his theft?

Ans. Anil gave him a fifty rupees note in the morning, which was still damp from the night’s rain. Anil told him that he would start teaching him, how to write full sentences and smiled at him. This made Had Singh realize that Anil knew everything.

15. What was-Anit’s job? What did he usually do with the money he earned?

Ans. Anil was a writer. He wrote articles for magazines. He had no regular source of income. He earned by fits and starts. When he earned some money, he would go out to celebrate.

16. What does the thief say about the reactions of different types of people when they were robbed?

Ans. Hari Singh had found that a greedy man’s face showed panic. The rich man showed anger and the poor man showed a sense of resignation.

Q.17. How did he think Anil would react when he discovered the theft? Why did he think so?

Ans. Hari Singh thought that when Anil would come to know of the theft, his face would show a touch of sadness. It would not be for the loss of money but for the loss of trust.

18. What made him come back to Anil?

Ans. Anil had been teaching Hari Singh to read and write. He thought that without education, he would remain only a thief. But with education, he would become a big, clever and respected man. This made him come back to Anil.

19. What did Anil give him in the morning? In what condition was it?

Ans. Anil gave him a fifty-rupee note in the morning. It was still wet from the night’s rain.

20. How did the thief realise that Anil knew that it had been stolen?

Ans. Anil gave a fifty rupee note to the thief. It was still wet from the night’s rain. So, the thief realised that And knew that it had been stolen.

21. How did the thief know that Anil had forgiven him?

Ans. And did not express in any way that he knew about the stealing. Moreover, he promised to pay him regularly. He also promised to continue with his leaching hint full sentences.

22. Why did the thief smile without any effort towards the end of the story?

Ans. 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. Why. according to Hari, is it difficult to rob a careless man?

Ans. Hari thinks that it is difficult to rob a careless man. Sometimes he does not even notice that he has been robbed. This takes out the joy of robbing him.

24. Why did Hari Singh think of doing some real work?

Ans. By ‘real work’ Hari Singh means stealing. He wants to steal Anil’s money because he has not stolen anything for a long time. Secondly, Anil is a careless mail. If Han Singh did not steal his money, he would waste it on useless things.

25 What made him think that he could live like an oil-rich Arab for some time?

Ans. 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.

26. Why should he find friends to be more trouble than help?

Ans. Hari Singh was a very poor boy. Those whom he knew were also poor like him. So. he thought that friends would be troublesome.

27. Why did he feet’ nervous about going back to Anil’s room?

Ans. 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.

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

Ans. 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.

29. Who is ‘I’ in this story? Why did he change his name every month?

Ans. In this story ‘I’ is a boy thief of 15 years. He often changed his name every month to avoid being caught by the police and his former employers. This time he tells that his name is Han Singh.


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

Ans. Hari Singh cooked 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.