1. How
old were Anil and the narrator? Where did he approach Anil to be friendly?
Ans. Anil was 25
years old and the narrator was only 15 years old.
He approached Anil to
be friendly where he was watching the wrestling match.
2. Which
characteristics of Anil made the narrator go for him?
Ans. Anil was easy
going, kind and simple enough which made him go for Anil.
3. What
is flattery? How did the narrator try it on Anil? Made the narrator by it on
Anil? Did it work?
Ans. Flattery is an act
of praising someone beyond the requirement.
The narrator tried it
on Anil by telling that he looked like a wrestler.
Yes, it worked as Anil
replied that he too looked like a wrestler.
4. Why
did the narrator give a false name? What did the narrator say about the
wrestler?
Ans. The narrator was
a thief. So he gave a false name so that the police and his employees would not
be able to catch him.
The narrator said
that he wrestled a bit.
5. When
the narrator asked for work, how was he disappointed? How did the thing settle
at last?
Ans. The narrator
asked for work, but Anil told that he would not be able to pay him. Thus, this
made him disappointed.
The thing settled at
last when the narrator wanted to cook meals for him and Anil promised to feed
him and provide shelter to him.
6. Where
did Anil stay? How was the food first night? What was the reaction of Anil to
the food? How did the narrator manage the situation?
Ans. Anil used to
stay near Jumna Sweet Shop.
The narrator couldn’t
cook at all. He lied to Anil. The food was terrible according to the narrator
as Anil fed the meal to the street dog and told him to go off.
The narrator kept
smiling most appealingly and this made Anil laugh.
7. What
positive talks did the narrator hear from Anil next day in the morning?
Ans. Anil told the
narrator that he would teach him cooking and even to write his name. Moreover,
he would teach him to write full sentences and to add numbers.
8. After
morning tea, what work would the narrator do? How would he make a little money
from Anil? How did Anil take it?
Ans. After the
morning tea, the narrator bought the day’s supplies.
He made a little
money by keeping the rest money with him.
Anil didn’t mind
anything even after knowing that the narrator used to make profits.
9. How
had Anil been earning money? How had he been on spending?
Ans. Anil used to
write for magazines and by this, he had been earning money.
Anil was a
spendthrift. When he got money in his hand he would simply waste the money.
10. Tell us about the
bundle of notes.
Ans.
Anil got the bundle of notes by selling a book to a publisher which he tucked
under the mattress.
11. How does the
narrator show difference in rubbing a greedy and careless man of trust?
Ans.
According to the narrator, robbing a person like Anil is quite difficult rather
than robbing a greedy man as a greedy man can afford to be robbed but it is
difficult to rob a careless man.
12. How did the
narrator plan to steal the money and how did he plan to escape?
Ans.
The narrator planned that he would steal the money when Anil was asleep and he
had a key to the door by which he could escape. Then he could catch the 10:30
Express to Lucknow.
13. How did the
narrator steal the money?
Ans.
When Anil was asleep, the narrator sat up on the floor and began to search the
money under the mattress. When he found it, he quickly ran away from there.
14. When the narrator
was on the road what was he wearing? How much was the amount? What did he feel
then?
Ans.
When the narrator was on the road, he was wearing pyjamas and a shirt.
The
amount was six hundred rupees.
He
felt as if he would be able to live like an oil-rich Arab for a week or two.
15. On reaching the
station, what did the narrator find? What happened to his train journey?
Ans.
On reaching the station, the narrator found a ticket office and The Lucknow
Express was just moving out.
He
couldn’t go away as he felt guilty. Finally, the train left the station and he
found himself to be alone in the deserted station and had no idea where to go
and what to do.
16. When the narrator
missed the train what options did he think?
Ans.
After missing the train, the narrator was left alone in the station and he had
no idea where to spend the night. He had no friends but at the same time believed
that friends were more trouble than helpful and didn’t want to stay in the
hotels as anyone might suspect him. The only way left for him was to return to
Anil, whom he has robbed.
17. In his career as
a thief what study of human faces did the narrator find? What happened to his
train journey?
Ans.
In his career as a thief, the narrator made a study of human faces. When a
greedy man loses their goods, he shows fear, the rich shows anger and the poor
shows acceptance.
18. Sitting on the
bench, what else trouble did he face?
What did he go then?
Ans.
Sitting on the bench, the narrator was feeling cold as it was early November
and soon it began to rain heavily. His shirt and pyjamas were wet.
He
then went back to the bazaar and sat down under the clock tower.
19. Sitting under the
clock tower what did he reflect about missing as he would no longer work as the
servant to Anil?
Ans. Sitting under the clock tower, the narrator
looked at the notes which were then damp. He thought that Anil would have given him a two or three rupees
for the cinema, but he had ruined everything himself. He thought that he
couldn’t learn how to cook, write full sentences and run to the bazaar.
20. How and why did
the narrator decide to return back Anil? How did he evaluate this to be better?
Ans.
The narrator felt guilty and found that he was all alone. He had no place to go
and no friends. He remembered that Anil had told him that he would teach full
sentences which he forgot in the excitement of theft. In the morning, he might
have given two or three rupees.
He
realised that if he wanted to be a big, clever and respected person, he should
get educated first. So, he hurried back to Anil if he wanted to read and write.
21. How did the
narrator return the money back? What was the glitch in it?
Ans.
The narrator went back to Anil and he
opened the door quietly and saw that Anil was still asleep. Then very carefully
he kept the notes under the mattress.
The
glitch was that the notes became damp due to the rain.
22. What surprises
had been waiting for the narrator in the morning? How did he react?
Ans.
The surprise was that Anil will be paying the narrator regularly from then.
23. Do you think that
Anil knew the whole matter? Give reasons for your support.
Ans.
Yes, I think Anil knew the whole matter. This is because the notes were damp
and Anil must have suspected something. Last night it was raining, so someone
must have taken the notes out and in this way it had become damp. So, the
narrator must have tried to steal them as no one else knew about the money.
Extra
Questions (8 marks)
1. The
story reflects a change of a person from darkness to light.”-Discuss.
Ans. The story “The Thief’s
story” by Ruskin Bond reflects the change of a person from darkness to light.
The narrator was a thief and was quite experienced. He was a boy of fifteen
years old. He used to change his name every month in order to stay away from
the police and the other employees. He came to Anil for the same purpose. But
Anil’s behaviour towards the narrator changed him. The narrator flattered that
Anil looked like a wrestler. He even lied to him that he could cook. But Anil
found that he couldn’t cook, so he promised to teach him cooking. He taught him
to write his name and even told that he would teach him to write whole
sentences and numbers. One day, Anil brought a small bundle of notes and showed
it to the narrator. But he couldn’t stop himself from stealing. He escaped from
there and tried to catch the train. But then he found himself to be guilty. He realised
that he had made a mistake. He wanted to become educated. So, he went back to
Anil and the next morning Anil declared that he will be paid from the next day.
Moreover, he will also teach him to write full sentences.
2. Hari
Singh suffered dualities of mind and at last, decided the good one”- Discuss
the statement.
Ans. In the story
“The Thief’s story” by Ruskin Bond, Hari Singh, the thief, suffered dualities
of mind and at last decided the good one. At the age of only fifteen years, he
became an experienced one. He kept changing his names in order to escape from
the police and the other employees. Later, he started living with Anil and learnt
to write his name. Later, he tried to rob Anil and escaped from there. He found
that robbing a man like Anil was quite difficult. He tried to escape by train
but couldn’t go. He returned back to Anil as he wanted to be educated. He
wanted to learn whole sentences and become a respected person in the society.
That’s why he returned the bundle of notes and the next day Anil promised to
pay him regularly from them.
3. How
does the story reflect the mind of a thief in action?-Discuss?
Ans. The story “The
thief’s story” by Ruskin Bond reflects the mind of a thief in action. The boy
was only fifteen years old. He changed his names every month so that the police
would not be able to catch him. He came to Anil for that purpose only. He tried
to flatter Anil by saying that he looked like a wrestler. He told Anil that he
wanted to work and lied that he could cook. Later, Anil had to teach him
cooking. He was supposed to make the morning tea and then buy the day’s
supplies. He would take the money that was left. By this, he made a profit of
about one rupee a day. Later, when he got to know about the bundle of notes, he
couldn’t stop himself from taking the money. He thought that Anil would simply
waste it on his friends. So, he stole the money and decided to catch the
express train. He counted the notes and saw that it was six hundred rupees.
Moreover, he thought that he could live like an oil-rich Arab for a week or
two. By this way, this story reflects the mind of a thief.
4. “Anil’s
simple, honest and friendly attitude changed the thief”-Justify the statement.
Ans. In the story
“The Thief’s story” by Ruskin Bond, Anil was a simple, honest and friendly
person. His behaviour changed the thief. He provided shelter to an unknown
person. He believed in him which shows his simple nature. When he got to know
that the narrator couldn’t cook, he taught him how to cook. He also taught him
to write his name. Moreover, he told that he would teach him to write full
sentences. He was the most trusting person. When the narrator made profits out
of the daily supplies, he didn’t even mind anything. He even showed the bundle
of notes to a stranger. Later, he announced that he would be paying the
narrator regularly even after knowing that he had tried to rob him. This nature
changed the thief and he returned the money to Anil and was quite excited about
learning full sentences.
5. The
story is an embodiment of didactic lesson where a human must learn what should
be their course of action in life.”-Evaluate the statement.
Ans. The story “The
Thief’s story” by Ruskin Bond is truly an embodiment of didactic lesson. The thief,
who was very skilled in stealing, had a wish to become educated and become a
respected person in the society. Anil was so simple that he provided shelter to
a stranger who was actually a thief. He was like his teacher. He taught him to
write his name and told that he would also teach him to write full sentences.
Not only that, but his attitude also changed a thief and made him a good
person. The narrator wanted to become educated and was quite interested in
learning. He realised his mistake and returned the money to its owner. Anil got
to know the matter, and he might have punished the narrator but instead, he
forgave him and even announced that he would be paying him regularly from the
next day. Moreover, he also told that he would teach him to write whole
sentences from then. This would make the child thief an educated one.
02|