CBSE Class 10 English The Thiefs Story Assignment Set 04

Short Answer Type Questions
 

Question. What made Hari Singh a successful thief ?
Answer: Anil was a trusting and generous fellow. He did not turn Hari Singh out when he proved a hopeless cook. He did not mind Hari Singh’s making money from daily purchases. He even gave him the keys of his room. He never kept his money under lock and key. These things made Hari Singh a successful thief.

Question. Why did Hari Singh not make many friends ?
Answer: Hari Singh did not have friends as he believed that friends were more trouble than help. Moreover, he did not want to make anyone curious.

Question. How did the thief react when Anil told him ‘to be off’ after he cooked food very badly for the first time ?
Answer: The thief stayed in Anil’s room over the Jumna Sweet Shop and slept in the balcony. When the food cooked by the thief was so terrible that it had to be given to a stray dog, Anil told him to be off. But Hari Singh still hung around smiling in his most appealing way to convince Anil to let him stay.

Question. What did Anil offer to teach Hari Singh ?
Answer: Anil told Hari Singh, the thief, that he would teach him how to cook. Anil also offered to teach him how to write his name, whole sentences and even how to add numbers.

Question. “It was quite pleasant working for Anil.” Why did the thief feel so ?
Answer: The thief found working for Anil quite pleasant. He had to only make tea in the morning. Then he would go to the market to buy things for the day, taking his time. Because of the shopping, Hari Singh would make a profit of about a rupee per day.

Question. “Well, it’s time I did some real work, I told myself, I’m out of practice”. (i) What ‘real work’ is the speaker talking about ? (ii) Why does he say “I’m out of practice” ?
Answer: (i) The speaker is the thief Hari Singh and his real work is stealing from people.
(ii) At Anil’s place, he was only buying things from the market for the house and cheating and manipulating a rupee or two here and there. He was also learning how to cook and how to write, but he had not robbed anyone for a long time. Therefore, that he thought that he was out of practice.

Question. What was the thief’s immediate reaction when he stole Anil’s money?
Answer: After stealing Anil’s money the thief quickly crawled out of the room. When he was on the road, he began to run. He had the notes at his waist, that were held there by the string of his pyjamas. He counted that he had 600 rupees and could live like an oil-rich Arab for a week or two.

Question. How did Hari Singh justify himself his intentions of stealing Anil’s money?
Answer: Hari Singh thought that he had been out of practice for a fairly long time period. If he didn’t take the money, Anil would squander it on his friends and celebration. He further justified his intention arguing that Anil did not even pay him.

Question. What was Anil’s job? How did he usually spend the money he earned?
Answer: Anil made money by fits and starts. He would borrow one week and would lend the next. He wrote for magazines to earn his living. As soon as he got a cheque he would go out and have a great time celebrating.

Question. At the station, why did the thief lose his chance to get away with the money?
Answer: When the thief reached the railway station, the ‘Lucknow Express’ was just moving out. He would have been able to jump into one of its carriages but for some inexplicable reason he hesitated to board the train and lost his chance to get away.

Question. I found myself standing on the deserted platform. I had no idea where to spend the night. I had no friends. (i) Why was the speaker alone on the platform ? (ii) Why did he not have any friends ?
Answer: (i) When Hari reached the station after stealing money from Anil, the Lucknow Express was moving out. The train was still moving quite slowly and he would have been able to catch the train, but he did not even attempt to jump into the moving train. For some reason, he had hesitated. Therefore, when the train was gone, Hari was left alone on the deserted platform.
(ii) Hari believed that friends were more trouble than help. Therefore, he did not have any friends.

Question. Had Anil really forgiven Hari Singh ? Support your answer with evidence.
Answer: Anil did not make much money, so the amount stolen by Hari must have been very important. The situation must have made him very angry. But when he found out that Hari had made an attempt to change his habits, Anil forgave him. He thought that if Hari was given a chance, it will help transform him. So, he forgave him and gave him an opportunity improve himself. He even gave him Rupees 50 and promised to pay him regularly from then on.

Question. Why did Anil decide to pay Hari Singh regularly?
Answer: Anil handed Han Singh fifty-rupee note as payment for his services. He went on to that since he had started making money, he would pay Hari regularly. However, Anil knew about Han and did not want him to be tempted again for want of money.

Question. How did Anil earn his livelihood ?
Answer: The main source of Anil’s income was by writing for various magazines. Occasionally, he would write a book as well. But his income was not regular. Anil mostly kept on waiting for his cheque, but as soon as the cheque would come, he would go out and celebrate.
 

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Anil is a real teacher, Justify the statement in light of the story The Thieft’s Story.
Answer: It is love and sympathy which has transformed Hari Singh into a responsible person. Anil sympathised with Hari Singh and got ready to feed him if he could cook food for him. Anil threw the bad meal prepared by Hari Singh to dogs the first day. Out of sympathy, Anil too upon himself to teach him how to cook and read. Hari Singh made a profit when he bought the daily supplies. Anil was aware of it. However, he loved him like his younger brother. Anil even trusted him with the keys of the house. Hari Singh stole the money but his conscience urged him to return the same. Anil understood everything but showed sympathy for him. He promised to teach him and pay him regularly. In this way love and sympathy transformed even an artful thief.

Question. Suppose you are Anil, the writer. Write a letter to your friend ? Vivek telling him how you met Hari Singh and let him work for you. You live at 22, M.G. Road, above Jumna Sweet Shop, Dehradun.
Answer: 22, M.G. Road,
Above Jumna Sweet Shop,
Dehradun.
13 April 20xx
My dear Vivek,
Today something interesting happened, which I would like to share with you. I happened to meet a young lad of fifteen while watching a wrestling match. The boy’s smile was really fascinating. I was surprised when he told me that I looked a bit of a wrestler. Though he was slim like me, I complimented him that he also looked like a wrestler. This boy told me his name as Hari Singh.
Hari Singh expressed his desire to work for me. As you know my income is not regular, I told Hari Singh that I could not pay him. But then he asked if I could feed him. I told him truthfully if he knows how to cook then I can let him work for me. So, somehow through this encounter I have found myself a worker.
Yours sincerely,
Anil

Question. Suppose that you are Anil, the writer. You are aware that Hari Singh had stolen the money but had come back. Write a diary entry stating why you preferred not to show it to Hari Singh.
Answer: Monday, 11 July, 20xx 10:30 p.m.
Dear Diary,
Hari Singh was a poor cook. So, I started teaching him how to cook and how to write and even add numbers. He was turning out to be more of a companion than a servant. Recently, by selling a book, I had earned 600 rupees, which I kept under my mattress. At midnight, I woke up to find that Hari Singh was not in the house. I checked and found that my money was missing too. I thought that if I complain to the police about the theft, Hari Singh might become a hardened criminal.
So, without doing anything I went back to my bed. I was awake when Hari came back and kept the money under my mattress. But I pretended to be asleep, though I felt quite happy because of his transformation. Hence, I preferred to pose that I was unaware about his having stolen the money and help him lead a better life.
In satisfaction.
Anil

Question. What did Hari do when the train had left ? Why didn’t he make friends ? Who was the only person he really knew very well ? What had Hari forgotten in the excitement of the theft ? What did he decide to do ? Was it a right decision ?
Answer: When the train had gone, Hari found himself standing alone on the deserted platform. He sat down on a bench, feeling lost and confused. It was chilly at night and a light drizzle added to his discomfort. Soon, it started raining very heavily and Hari went back to the bazaar and sat down in the shelter of the clock tower. Sitting down, he saw that the clock showed midnight.
Hari had not made any friends because he believed that friends were more trouble than help. Thus, it turned out that the only person he knew well was the person he had robbed.
Later, he remembered that in the excitement of the theft, he had forgotten about the whole sentences, that Anil was going to teach him. He wanted to learn to write whole sentences because he wanted to become an educated and respected person. So, he decided to go back to Anil’s house to learn to read and write.
In the end, he decided to keep the stolen money back and stay on with Anil. His decision was right because a thief has no future, one or the other day he will be caught. Meanwhile, an educated person can lead an honest life and be a really big man, a clever and respected man.

Question. If you were Anil, would you have pardoned the thief? If yes/no, why?
Answer: I would definitely have pardoned the thief if I was Anil. It is remarkable that the thief himself realised his mistake and even though he had the opportunity to escape he came back. It would be wrong to rebuke or punish a person who attains self-realisation of the mistake he has committed and decides to reform it. Anil had trusted the thief and even though the thief had the chance to run away, Anil could not bring himself to betraying Anil’s trust. I feel such a person deserves admiration and should be pardoned as he has taken the first step for becoming a better human being and, therefore, we should encourage him in this positive direction.

Question. What kind of life was the thief leading with Anil?
Answer: Anil had taken the thief to his room and told him he could sleep in the balcony. Anil told the thief that he would teach him how to cook. He also taught the thief how to write his name. For the thief it was quite pleasant working for Anil. He made the tea in the morning and then would buy the day’s supplies, usually making a profit of about one rupee every day. Anil had also told him that he would soon teach him to write whole sentences and add numbers. The thief was grateful because he knew that once he could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what he could achieve. Anil was a trusting person who had given the thief a key of his house also.

Question. “But to be a really big man, a clever and respected man was something else.” Hari finally accepted the importance of education and honest living. What do you think about the role of education in changing people like Hari . Comment on the role of education in the life of a person.
Answer: Hari Singh finally realized the significance of education in life. He understood that he would only provide him money temporarily. Also, there was the risk of being caught. Education provides one with respectability and Hari finally had seen that. Children must be taught to see the difference between wrong and right. It leads them on the path of truth and rational thinking. Thus, education is an essential aspect of any child’s life and can help one lead an honourable life.

Question. The chapter shows Hari Singh’s journey from a thief to an honest man who value friendship and other human values. Do you think it was Anil’s selfless friendship that he Hari to redeem himself? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Answer: The chapter reveals Hari Singh’s transformation from a thief into an honest. It was Anil’s selfless friendship that helped Hari to redeem himself. Gradually Hari Singh began to understand human values such as friendship and trust. When he robbed Anil, he felt guilty of having violated the trust that Anil had reposed in him. He could not board the train and missed his chance to get away. Moreover, he valued Anil’s feelings towards him as he knew that after discovering the theft, Anil would not be sad for the loss of money, but for loss of trust.

Question. How did Hari steal the money from Anil ?
Answer: One evening, Anil came home with a bundle of notes, and tucked them under the mattress. Since, Hari could not resist the temptation to steal, when Anil was fast asleep, Hari slid his hand under the mattress, searching for the notes. When he found them, he drew them out without a sound. But, at that moment, Anil suddenly turned on his side towards Hari. Startled, Hari quickly crawled out of the room and reaching the road, he began to run. He had the notes at his waist, held there by the string of his pyjamas. When he reached a fair distance, Hari counted them and found that they were six hundred in amount.

Question. How did Hari Singh steal Anil’s money? What justification did he give?
Answer: One evening Hari Singh saw Anil tuck a bundle of notes under his mattress. That was the time Hari Singh decided to get down to some real work and steal the money for Anil had been out of practice for long. As Anil lay asleep, Hari Singh slid his hand under the mattress and drew out the notes without a sound. He justified his act by thinking that if he did not take Anil’s money, he would only waste it on his friends and the fact that Anil did not even pay him proved another incentive for Hari Singh to rob him of this money.

Question. “The Thief’s Story” is a study of the complexities of the human mind.
Answer: “The Thief’s Story” is indeed a study of the complexities of the human mind. More than often a man himself fails to understand his own mind. The human mind is rather vulnerable to outside influences. The young boy, who is a thief, picks up a job with Anil with the sole intention of robbing him. But when he does get an opportunity to rob him, he does so and then makes a retreat. He cannot cheat Anil who has been quite good and kind to him. Anil seems to him the fulfillment of his hope. He feels, with Anil he can learn, lead an honest life and finally become a big man.
 

Extract Based Questions

1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows :
Later, he patted me on the head and said never mind, he’d teach me to cook. He also taught me to write my name and said he would soon teach me to write whole sentences and to add numbers. I was grateful. I knew that once I could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what I could achieve.

Question. What did Hari do to earn his living?
Answer: Had used to steal for a living.

Question. What could he do as an educated man?
Answer: As an educated man, Hari could achieve anything and everything respectfully.

Question. Why was the narrator patted on his head?
Answer: The narrator had cooked a meal last night that was not up to the mark. His master, Anil, gave the meal to a stray dog and asked the narrator to leave his place. The narrator was puffed on his head as a mark of encouragement from his master and to forget what happened earlier.

Question. State true or false. None of the terms (a)-(d) can be applied to the statement -The narrator was feeling happy at the prospect of being educated.
(a) A hypothesis - a proposed explanation for a phenomenon
(b) An assumption - something that is taken for granted or assumed to be true
(c) A hyperbole - exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
(d) A premise - a proposition that forms the basis of an argument
(a) True
(b) False
Answer: (b) False

2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follows :
When the train had gone, I found myself standing alone on the deserted platform. I had no idea where to spend the night. I had no friends, believing that friends were more trouble than help.

Question. Why was the speaker standing alone on the platform?
Answer: The speaker was standing alone on the platform because the train had left.

Question. The speaker did not catch the train deliberately while he could catch it easily. Why?
Answer: The speaker did not catch the train deliberately while he could catch it easily because his inner conscience held him back. Further, he didn’t want to lose the chance of learning.

Question. Why did the speaker not have any friends?
Answer: The narrator did not have any friends. He refrained from making friends as he thought that the trouble caused by friends outweighted the benefits of having friends.

Question. State true or false. None of the terms (a)-(d) can be applied to the statement -The narrator has bought a ticket for the train journey.
(a) A hypothesis - a proposed explanation for a phenomenon
(b) An assumption - something that is taken for granted or assumed to be true
(c) A hyperbole - exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
(d) A premise - a proposition that forms the basis of an argument
(a) True
(b) False
Answer: (a) True