The Thief's Story, Class 10 cbse , part 1

FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT  Feet, The Thief's Story, Introduction,Theme,Moral, Characters and exact Summary.

             Prepared by : Sujeet Kumar

                       CHAPTER: 2

                The Thief's Story
                        By: Ruskin Bond

Introduction/ Theme/ Moral
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Written by Ruskin Bond, ' The Thief ' is an inspirational story which deals with the theme of the victory over the vices. The story justifies the fact that keeping a good company can prove to be a life- changer.

The story reveals that our inner self is the invisible witness of whatever we do. It praises us for our good deeds but also condemns us for our misdeeds. Those who acts at the silent command of their inner self can add a vital meaning to their life.

CHARACTERS
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The story has two characters. They're from different backgrounds and represent two different qualities:
(1) Anil :
He is a 25 - year old unmarried young man .He is gentle, sober and humble .He earns his livelihood by writing books and articles for magazines. He lives alone and is quite satisfied with whatever means he has and how his life is going.

(2) Hari Singh
He is a 15- year old boy. He is expert in cheating and robbing people and committing theft. What makes him expert in making livelihood by wrong means is his abilities to know about people just by reading their faces.

UNDERSTANDING THE STORY
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Hari Singh, the narrator of the story, hadn't robbed anyone or committed theft for quite a few days.

One day he saw Anil watching a wrestling match on the roadside. Anil appeared to him the kind of an easy- going person who could
have been easily robbed.
So, he approached Anil and got the job of a servent on condition that he would cook food and get only his meal as salary.

Hari Singh didn't know cooking but he said that he could. Anil took Hari Singh home over the Jumna Sweet Shop and provided him balcony to sleep on.

The food Hari Singh cooked the first day was awful. Anil fed it to a dog and told Hari Singh to go away but he hung around smiling in his most appealing way which wiped out Anil's anger and irritation.

Later, Anil taught him not only to cook but also to write his name and further promised to teach him to write whole sentences and to add numbers.

Hari Singh worked happily for Anil. He made the tea in the morning and went to market to buy the day's supplies. He made a profit of about a rupee a day .

Anil didn't have a regular income. He got a cheque now and then. When he had money ,he spent it lavishly.

One evening Anil came home with a wad of notes which he had got from a publisher after selling his book. At night he tucked the money under the mattress.

Hari Singh noticed it and the thief in him arose. He thought that during his one month's of free service he had not stolen any thing save rupee 1 that he made out of shopping. He had every opportunity of committing theft as he had key to the room as well.

But for all the trust Anil had reposed  in him , he did not find it easy to go for his real work as robbing a careless person like Anil didn't make much difference because he might not even notice that he had been robbed and that didn't make robbing meaningful.

But the thief in him again overpowered him and he decided to steal Anil's money thinking that if he didn't steal money ,Anil would waste it on his friends. Moreover, he didn't get salary for his services also.

At night Hari Singh got up quietly when Anil had gone to sleep. He took the money and rushed to railway station to catch the Lucknow express to go out of town. When he reached the railway station, the Lucknow express was picking up speed. He could have boarded it but suddenly the good in him prevailed and he decided not to breach the trust of Anil who valued being human more than money. Anil would not worry about money but he might feel bad that a man had broken his faith.

The train went away. Walking slowly through the bazaar, Hari Singh came to the maindan and sat on the bench . It was a chilly. November night. Soon it began to rain and Hari Singh got wet.

To save himself from the rain ,Hari Singh went to the clock tower and sat there. He felt for the notes. They were damp from the rain.

While sitting there, Hari Singh thought about Anil's money and his wrong deed. Now he realised that he should not loose the faith of Anil as Anil was teaching him how to write and add numbers which could change his life.

Now, Hari Singh made up his mind to go back to Anil. He reached home hurriedly and entered Anil's room . Anil was asleep. He slipped the money back under the pillow and came out stealthily.

Next morning Hari Singh woke up a bit late. Anil had already got up and made his tea. He gave Hari Singh a 50 rupee note. It was wet.

Hari Singh realised that Anil knew everything but he didn't say anything about the theft. He only said that he would pay him regularly and also teach him to write whole sentences.
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