The Thiefs Story | NCERT Book Class 10 English Footprint without Feet
Summary – The Thiefs Story
Anil was a young writer. He was living his life very carelessly. He was writing for the magazines and earning the money to run his life. One day Anil was watching the wrestling match. Hari best knew how to make unknown person a friend. He used an old formula to flatter the person. Hari stayed with Anil. Anil promised him that he would teach him how to write and add numbers. He also taught him how to cook tasty food. Daily Hari Singh was going to buy daily needs and had profit of one rupee daily. Anil knew it but he did not mind it. Both were living together happily.
One month passed, Hari Singh did not perform his business. One day he saw Anil had bought a bundle of notes. He saw him to put them under the mattress. As Hari saw the bundle of notes, his evil spirit awakened in his mind and he decided to rob Anil that night. After taking dinner Anil slept peacefully. Hari could not sleep, he woke up. He crept to the bed and slipped his hand under the mattress. He found the notes and ran away on the road. Hari Singh made up his mind that he would directly go to the railway station and would catch the Lucknow Express. He thought that Anil would not catch him if he ran away from the city. Hari Singh reached the railway station, Lucknow Express was about to go.
Suddenly the good spirit called him. The inner voice told him not to betray the faith of Anil. The train was moving but Hari did not dare to catch it. He was remembering the innocent face of Anil. When Hari Singh thought that what would Anil think about him. Anil would not worry about the money but he might feel bad that a man had broken his faith. There was conflict in the mind of Hari Singh. He did not want to loose faith of Anil. Because he knew that Anil was a simple man. Moreover Anil was teaching him how to write and add numbers which could change his life. He could become a respected person in the society.
He left the railway station. He came to the ground and sat on the bench. Just then heavy rain started. It was the month of November. Chill wind started blowing. He felt more uncomfortable as he had cheated an innocent person. His shirt and pyjamas stuck to his body because it were wet due to the rain.
Then he went to the Clock Tower to save from the rain. He sat there under the tower. Suddenly he remembered his notes. He searched for it and found that all the notes were wet. He crept again and secretly put back money under the mattress. The next day Anil woke up, prepared tea for Hari and himself. He handed over fifty rupees note to Hari and told him that he would be regularly paid now. Hari took the note and found that it was still wet. He understood that Anil knew about the last night episode.
Extra Question Answers – The Thiefs Story
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?
Answer: Hari Singh’s reactions to the prospect of receiving an education change over time. When he started living with Anil he wanted to be literate so that he could become a more cunning cheat. Later on there is a change in his heart. He wants to earn respect in life. Probably he is influenced by the calm in Anil’s life. Although, both of them depend on irregular sources of income, but Anil seems to be more satisfied. Hari Singh develops a desire to be part of the civilized society.
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?
Answer: The wetness of notes must have given the idea of Hari Singh’s act to Anil. But Anil is pleased with the fact that Hari returned whatever he had stolen. This must have given him a hope for Hari Singh’s desire to change. That is why he did not hand over Hari to police. People like Anil are hard to find. Most people would have reacted in predictable ways by thrashing Hari Singh and calling police. Anil is different because he wants his servant to become literate. He wants his servant to lead a respectable life in future.
Q.3: Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or are there such people in real life?
Answer: Both Anil and Hari Singh are rare in society. Especially the changed Hari Singh after he decides to go back to Anil is difficult to find.
Q.4: Do you think it 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 getting 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 flow of money he gets at a given time. When he gets the money he enjoys eating out with his friends. When he is having less money then he even doesn’t accept paying salary to Hari Singh.
Q.5: 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?
Answer: I have met several people who help needy people and help them specially in becoming literate. Fifteenth year is a very dangerous phase of life as it is teenage. A deep scar on mind or a deep sense of greed can make criminal out of ordinary boys and girls.
The Thiefs Story