Introduction

The story highlights how kindness , compassion and trust can change even
criminals. The Thief’s Story’ by Ruskin Bond is about a 15 year old boy, Hari
Singh, whose life changes when he meets Anil, a 25 year old writer. Anil’s
unspoken words and kind gestures leave very positive imprints on Hari
Singh who is an artful thief. He realised the importance of education and
became a better man under Anil’s company.

Summary
Hari Singh is the narrator of this story. He is an artful thief. One day, he met
a young man of twenty-five named Anil, while he was watching a wrestling
match. Anil was a tall , thin , easy going and simple man. He gave him an
artificial smile. He desired to have an acquaintance with him in order to
make him his next victim. Anil avoided him. The narrator used some
flattering words to gain Anil’s confidence and soon they started
conservation. He lied to Anil that his name was Hari Singh. He changed his
name every month to hide himself from police.

Hari Singh followed Anil after the match was over. He asked Anil for work. To
this , Anil expressed his inability to pay Hari. He was ready to work for Anil if
he could just feed him. Anil agreed to engage Hari Singh if he could cook
food for both. Anil gave that night’s food to a stray dog because the food
cooked by Hari was terrible. Anil realised that Hari didn’t know how to cook.
The thief lied that he was a good cook.

Apart from cooking , Anil also taught Hari to read and write his name and
promised to teach him how to write whole sentences and to add numbers.
Hari was grateful and happy for getting educated as he knew that he could
do anything once he get educated. The Hari made the morning tea and
bought the daily supplies. Anil was aware of the fact that Hari Singh made
a profit from the purchases but Anil did not mind.

Anil had no regular income and was not a rich man. He borrowed money
sometimes but repaid the loan whenever he earned money through his
writings for magazines. The thief thought it a strange way of making
money.
One day, Anil sold a book to a publisher and brought home a bundle of
notes. He put the money under his mattress and Hari noticed it. The thief
had not stolen anything since a month of his working there and had
gained Anil’s trust. He had no desire to rob a careless person who trusted
him blindly. However, he could not resist the temptation of getting the
bundles of notes.

The thief got up quietly when Anil had gone to sleep. He took the money
and slipped out of the room. He had six hundred rupees in his possession.
He reached the railway station just as the Lucknow Express was picking up
speed. He could have boarded it but something held him back. The train
was soon out of his sight.

Hari Singh was left alone on the platform. He was in a dilemma where to
go. He had no acquaintance there. He did not like to go to a hotel lest he
should be suspected. The thief thought that Anil would be sad not for the
loss of money but for the loss of trust he had reposed on him. It was a cold
night. It was drizzling when he went to the maidan and sat down on a
bench. His clothes got drenched. He went back to the bazaar. There he took
shelter under the clock tower. It was midnight. He thought and realized that
he had let go a chance of being a respectable man.

Anil was taking pains to teach him reading and writing. He decided to go
back to Anil and reached his home. Anil was still asleep. He slipped the
money at its usual place. He slept till late hours. Anil had made tea before
Hari Singh woke up. Anil offered him a fifty rupee note. He also promised
him to pay him regularly. The note was still wet. Anil understood everything
but he did not expose the thief’s doing. Instead, Anil said that they would
start writing sentences that day. Hari Singh felt guilty and smiled
shamefacedly.

Question and Answer

Read and Find Out

Question 1 Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?

Answer ‘I’ refers to Hari Singh, the narrator of the story.

Question 2 What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?

Answer He was a fairly successful hand at stealing and robbing people.

Question 3 What does he get from Anil in return for his work?

Answer Hari and Anil made an agreement that if he would cook, then Anil
would feed him. However Hari lied to Anil that he could cook and he soon
found out that he did not know how to cook. He taught him how to cook
and later how to write his name. He promised to teach him how to write
whole sentences and how to add number.

Question 4 How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?

Answer The thief knew that the Anil’s face would show a touch of sadness.
The sadness would be not because of the loss of money but because of
the loss of trust he had in Hari.

Question 5 What does he say about the different reactions of people

when they are robbed?

Answer Hari said that in his career as thief, he had made a study of men’s
faces when they lost their goods. He said that greedy men showed fear,
rich man showed anger and poor men showed acceptance. He knew that
Anil’s face would show a touch of sadness.

Question 6 Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?

Answer Yes, Anil realised that he had been robbed. He knew this because
all the notes were wet and damp due the rain. He did not say anything to
the thief and behaved normally.

Think About it
Question 1 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?

Answer Hari Singh’s reactions to the prospect of receiving an education

changes over times. Hari was very happy and grateful when he learned to
write his name. He was very excited when Anil promised to teach him to
write whole sentences as well. He knew that being an educated man will
add to his abilities and he could achieve anything. But when he left Anil’s
house, he realised that stealing was simply a crime to indulge himself but
being educated was an entirely different thing. He knew the respect,
reputation and possibilities that would come to him once he was
educated. And so his urge to receive education compelled him to return to
Anil.

Question 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 Anil does not handover Hari to the police on theft charges. He knew
about the theft but he did not thrash him nor even mentioned it in front of
Hari. He was glad that Hari had realised his mistake and the importance of
education in life. Anil wanted Hari to become a literate man and lead a
respectful life.

No, in today’s world most people would not have done He is different from
other such employers because he is very understanding. Hari’s return gave
him the hope of a change in him.

Talk About it

Question 1 You think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in
fiction, or are there such people in real life?
Answer No, I don’t think that people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only
in fiction. We find such people in everyday life or real life also. Such people
are hardly ever found in today’s society who are actually good. If one is
caught stealing, people punish him on their own or he will be handed over
to the police. One chance for changing oneself must be given to everyone.
Anil was a kind and considerate person who was concerned, about Hari’s
education and future. And Hari was a thief whose heart changes after
realising the importance of education for his future. People like these are
imaginary in today’s world.

Question 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?

Answer Yes, it is a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling

writer. Hari Singh observed that Anil lifestyle was simple and used to spend
according to his pocket at all time, he is getting irregular incomes and
statement about his sale of a book to a publisher indicates that he is a
struggling writer. When he is having less money than he does not accept
paying salary to Hari Singh.

Question 3 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 Yes, once I was travelling with my family in a train. In my

compartment, some young boys were sitting. After some time, I realised
that my small bag was missing. I got worried because my purse and other
valuable were in that bag. I did not lose my temper and told them the story
that how a thief transformed himself into a good person. One of the boys,
who was culprit started crying and told me the truth and the reason behind
his act. After listening to his situation i decided to help him. Similarly, Hari
Singh was an uneducated person belonging to a poor family. It was his
circumstances that compelled him to become a thief. It’s the
circumstances that can turn a fifteen-year-old boy into a thief.