Fiction

Chapter 2
The Thief’s Story

TITLE

The title "The Thief's Story' stands totally justified because the story is centred around a fifteen
year old thief named Hari Singh. It is his first person account of a thief's experiences,
redemption and transformation from a fairly successful thief into a boy who wants to be
educated and lead a respectful and successful life. It is a candid confession how he wants to
dupe his benefactor Anil but could not, because the voice of his conscience compels him not to
do so. He describes how he begins to realise the value of trust and human relationships from
his benevolent employer's trusting nature and care for him.

THEMES

●​ Aspirations, trust and betrayal

●​ Power of trust, love and compassion in transforming a person

●​ Value of education

●​ Guilt and journey of redemption

●​ Juvenile delinquency

MAIN CHARACTERS

Hari Singh

Hari Singh, a fifteen year old boy is a successful and experienced thief. Hari Singh is not his real
name. He has to keep changing his name frequently to escape from police and his former
employers who have been robbed by him. He is a flatterer as he believes that a little flattery
helps him in making friends. He has acquired a good knowledge of human behaviour and has
observed how different people behave differently on being robbed. He assesses Anil being an
easy-going, kind and simple man. He very well knows the impact of a smile and uses his
'appealing smile' to achieve his objectives. He is a habitual liar He lies that he knows how to
cook. He makes money by keeping a rupee from buying the day's supplies. He understands the
value of education in life to get respect, success and recognition. He wants to be an educated
man. Although he breaches Anil's trust by stealing his money, he feels guilty. He realises he
cannot rob Anil, the only person who trusted and cared for him. It shows that there is a sense of
trust, honesty and goodness in a corner of his heart. At the end of the story, he goes back to
Anil, returns his money and decides to get education.
Anil

Anil is a young gentleman of twenty-five years old. He is a tall and lean fellow. He is a kind,
generous, large-hearted and compassionate man. He is an easy-going person whose trust can
be won easily. Although he cannot afford to pay a house help, he agrees to keep Hari Singh at
his home on his request. He is a very calm person as he does not show any anger or disgust
when Hari Singh cooks distasteful food. He is helpful by nature. He teaches Hari Singh how to
cook and write his name. Moreover, he promises him to teach how to write full sentences and
add numbers. He is a freelance writer who writes for magazines. He does not have any regular
income. He earns money by 'fits and starts'. He is not careful about money. He seems to be an
extravagant man who on getting a cheque celebrates with his friends and spends his money. He
is a trusting person who trusts Hari Singh easily. He gives the key to his room to Hari Singh. He
is large-hearted and forgiving too. Even after discovering the truth about the theft, he does not
utter a single word to confront Hari Singh rather he promises him to pay regularly. In short, he is
honest, helpful, affectionate, forgiving and large-hearted by nature. Characters like him are rare
to find in the real and materialistic world.

(NCERT PAGE 8)

Q.1 Who does 'l' refer to in this story?

Ans-“ I" refers to Hari Singh, the narrator of the story. He is a 15 year old experienced thief.

Q 2 What is he "a fairly successful hand" at?

Ans. He is a fairly successful hand' at stealing which means that he is an experienced thief. He
is so clean and cautious in his work that he robs people without being caught.

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

Ans. In return of Hari Singh's work, Anil gives him food and a place to live.

(NCERT PAGE 10)

Q.1 How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Ans. According to Hari, Anil would be sad not because of the loss of money but because of the
loss of trust he had in Hari.

Q.2 What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?
OR
What does the thief say about the different reactions of the people when they are robbed?
Ans. Hari's experience at theft had made him aware of the differences in reactions of people
when they're robbed. According to him, a greedy man shows fear, a rich man shows anger and
a poor man shows acceptance.

Q3 Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?

Ans. Yes, Anil realises that he has been robbed. He would have noticed it because all the notes
that he kept were wet the next morning. He also knew that it had rained the previous night so he
must have known that somebody had taken the notes out.

NCERT (page -13)

Q1. What are Hari Singh's reactions at the prospect of receiving an education? Do they change
overtime?
Ans. 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 a5 well. He knew that being an
educated man will add to his abilities and he could achieve unlimited material success.

No, Hari's reactions did not change overtime. He was always excited at the idea of getting
educated. However, initally Hari was excited at the possibilities education would bring to him.
Later, Hari's excitement was related to the respect, reputation and possibilities that would come
to him once he was educated. The realisation to receive education and earn respect compelled
him to return the money to Anil.

Q.2 Why does Anil not 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?

Or
Why does Anil not hand over Hari Singh to the police?
Ans. Anil does not handover Hari to the police on theft charges. Even though he knew about the
theft, he did not even mention it in front of Hari. This was so because Anil must have realised
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.

Unlike Anil, most people would have beaten up Hari or would have handed him to the police for
stealing the money.

Anil is different from other such employers because he is very understanding. Hari's return gave
him the hope of a change in the thief. Anil wishes to reform the young thief through love and
sympathy.

(NCERT PAGE 13)

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. People like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction and not in real life. Unlike Anil,
most people would have either beaten up the thief or would have handed him to the police.
People like Anil are rarely found in today's world.

Anil was a kind and considerate person who was concerned about Hari's education and future.
Hari was a thief whose heart changes after realising the importance of education for his future.
In the present world such people are only found in imaginary stories or novels.

Q.2 Do you think it is a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer? Does this
explain his behaviour in any way?
Ans. It is a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer as it is described that he
earns money by fits and starts. As a struggling writer, he struggles with money too. He has
irregular and uncertain income. He borrows one week and lends the next week. He keeps
worrying about his next pay cheque. He agrees to keep Hari Singh in his house but simply tells
him.

EXTRA QUESTIONS (LONG)

Q.1. Trust and compassion can reform a person. Justify this statement in the light of the
lesson"The Thief's Story".

OR

Love and sympathy are powerful forces that can transform even a thief. Comment on the role of
Anil to bring a transformation in Hari Singh's character.

Ans. Love, sympathy, trust and compassion are powerful forces that can reform a person even a
thief. If assurance is given and the right track of humanity is shown, thieves like Hari Singh will
surely give up theft. It was a potent force of love and trust reposed by Anil in Hari Singh that
compelled him to leave his habit of stealing and cheating. Anil had trust in Hari Singh and
showed his kindness by giving him a job. He trusted him despite becoming aware of his lie
about his cooking abilities. Anil might know that Hari Singh made a rupee every day from the
buying of the day's supplies but he ignored it. It was his sympathy that he taught the young boy
to write his name and also promised him to teach, write sentences and add numbers. This left a
lasting impression on the young boy's mind and he realised the importance of education in
leading a respectful and successful life. Even after stealing money, Hari Singh could not run
away as Anil's trust and compassion chained him.

He did not want to betray Anil's trust and realised that he should go back to his compassionate
benefactor. In addition to this, despite knowing about the theft, Anil did not hand over the young
boy to police because he wanted to reform him. Thus, it was trust, compassion, love and
sympathy that transformed Hari Singh from a thief to a reformed, honest and loyal young man
who did not want to miss the opportunity to be educated.

Q.2 Imagine that Hari Singh from “The Thief Story” write a diary entry exploring the theme of
human values and relations that are essential in life and can transform a person in the context
of his all experience. Write this diary entry as Hari Singh.

Ans. Dear Diary

1July 2025 ….day. 10:10pm
Life has been a rollercoaster of emotions since I met Anil. Within a short span of time, I not only
realised the value of human values and relations but also learnt the lessons in loyalty and
betrayal. I met Anil at a wrestling match and won his confidence with the intention of robbing
him. I insisted on working for him and he agreed. I could not cook food but Anil overlooked my
shortcomings. He is a very kind and compassionate man as he taught me to cook, read and
write. Not only this, he gave me a spare key to his house. But last night, I made a huge mistake.
When Anil came with a bundle of notes, I could not resist my temptation to steal his money.
After stealing money, I went to the railway station to escape but missed the train. There was
something unexplained that stopped me. I started thinking about Anil, his acts of kindness, his
promise to teach me, the trust he had reposed in me. It was a horrible feeling to cheat Anil who
cared for me. I could not run away and realised that there are many more things that are more
important than money. It is the education, human values, connections, and trust that truly matter.
Thus, I chose the path of honesty and loyalty, went back to Anil and put money back under the
mattress. In the morning, I realised that Anil had known about the theft because the note he
gave to me was damp. However, he had forgiven me without saying a single word. I felt a surge
of gratitude, affection and appreciation for him and decided to work hard and stay loyal to him.

Q.3. Money can't make a man as much as education can. Elucidate the statement with
reference to 'The Thief's Story.'

Ans. The statement "money can't make a man as much as education can" stands true in almost
all the aspects of life. Money may buy us all the luxuries and fulfill our needs but it cannot buy
us knowledge, civilised thinking, skills and abilities to achieve our dreams. Education lays the
platform for all to act upon our goals according to our abilities. It enables us to keep up with the
fast moving world and opens up opportunities we did not know exist. Money, on the other hand,
can assist us to a certain level. It can buy us a plan but education gives us the knowledge of its
execution.

In the story 'The Thief's Story', Hari Singh a young thief realises the importance of education. He
meets a struggling writer Anil who allows him to work for him. Anil teaches Hari to write. Hari
who had befriended Anil to rob him of money, returns back because he understands that
education will make him a big, clever and a respected man. He accepts that with education, he
would be able to earn much more than what he had robbed.