Important Questions for The Thief's Story Class 10 Footprints Without Feet English
Important Questions1
“I hurried back to the room feeling very nervous, for
it is much easier to steal something than to return undetected.”
(a) Who is the speaker of this line?
(b) Why was the speaker feeling nervous?
(c) Why was it difficult for the speaker to return the money?
(d) What is the view of Hari regarding theft?
Answer
(a) Hari, a young boy is the speaker of this line who is a thief
(b) Because he was keeping back the stolen money and feared
to get caught.
(c) He feared to get caught while keeping it back.
(d) It is much easier to steal something than to return undetected.
2
“I could come and go as I pleased. He was the most trusting
person I had ever met.”
(a) Other than the freedom of moment what else does the
speaker feel happy about?
(b) What does the speaker mean by most trusting person‘?
(c) Who is the speaker speaking about?
(d) What character traits of the master does this line reveal?
Answer
(a) He was free to come and go when he pleased. Moreover, he
was trusted by Anil.
(b) Anil trusted him completely.
(c) Anil, Hari Singh‘s master.
(d) Anil is a caring, kind-hearted, compassionate, understanding
and trusting person.
3
He took me to his room over the Jumna Sweet Shop and
told me I could sleep on the balcony. But the meal I cooked that night must
have been terrible because Anil gave it to a stray dog and told me to be oft
but I just hung around, smiling in my most appealing way, and he couldn‘t help
laughing.
(a) What does ‘I‘ refer to?
(b) Where did Mil take him?
(c) How did Anil react when Hari cooked a bad meal?
(d) How did Hari respond to his reaction?
Answer
(a) ‘I‘ refers to Hari Singh.
(b) Anil took him to the room where he stayed, over Jumna
sweet shop.
(c) Anil gave the food to the stray dogs and asked Hari to leave.
(d) Hari kept on smiling appealingly.
4
Well, it‘s time I did some real work, I told myself,
and I‘m out of practice. And if I don‘t take the money, he‘ll only waste it on
his friends. After all, he doesn‘t even pay me.
(a) What did he tell himself?
(b) Why did Hari decide to steal?
(c) Does Anil pay Hari a regular salary?
(d) What justification does Hari Singh give for stealing
Anil‘s money?
Answer
(a) He told himself that whatever he did was correct.
(b) He thought his owner would waste the money M y on his
friends and was not paying him his salary. He could use the money for his own
use.
(c) No, Anil did not pay n regular salary to Hair.
(d) If he did not steal, Anil would waste the money on his friends.
Moreover, he did not pay him any salary so far.
1
Why did Hari Singh decide to come back to Anil?
Answer
Had Singh decided to come back to Anil because he felt that
when Anil would come to know about the theft, he would feel sad, not for the
loss of money but for the loss of trust. He did not want to lose his trust.
2
Why did Hari Singh not go to his friend‘s house or a hotel
just after he missed the train?
Answer
Hari Singh did not have any friend and he did not want to make
anyone curious about staying at one of the small hotels near the station.
3
Why did Hari Singh tell a lie about cooking?
Answer
Hari Singh said that he could cook but when he cooked the
meal at night, it was so terrible that Anil gave it to a stray dog and told him
to be off. But then Anil patted him and said that he would teach him to cook.
4
Why did Hari Singh feel bad after stealing the money?
Answer
Anil had trusted Hari Singh completely and also taught him
how to cook. Anil also) started teaching him how to read and write. Thus, when
Hari stole money from Anil, conscience pricked him as he had broken Anil‘s
trust.
5
Why did Anil decide to pay Hari Singh regularly?
Answer
Anil handed Hari 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, I knew about Hari and did not want him to be tempted again
for want of money.
6
Why did Anil hire Hari Singh?
Answer
Anil hired Had Singh because Hari Singh himself expressed his
desire to work for him. When Anil told him that he could not pay him, Hari
Singh asked him if he could feed him. Anil replied that if he knew how to cook,
then he may work for him.
7
How did the thief know that Anil had forgiven him?
Answer
Anil did not express in any way that he knew about the stealing.
Moreover, he promised to pay him regularly. He also promised to continue with
his leaching hint full sentences.
8
Why did the thief smile without any effort towards the end
of the story?
Answer
The thief was under tension that his master would be angry with
him for stealing the money. But Anil did not express any anger. He said that he
would pay him regularly and would remain to continue teaching him full
sentences. This made him tension free and he smiled without any effort.
9
How was Hari Singh‘s appealing smile‘ at the end different from similar smiles of his on
earlier occasions?
Answer
On earlier occasions, Hari Singh‘s appealing smile‘ had been
artificial. It was full of flattery. But in the end, his smile was real. It was
natural and appealing.
1
Anil plays a major role in the transformation of Hari
Singh. Comment on the statement by highlighting the values possessed by Anil
which touched Hari‘s heart and made him return to his honest ways of earning
his livelihood.
Answer
Anil was a struggling writer who befriended Had Singh. Hari
Singh was an experienced, 15-year-old thief. He found Anil an easy target to
steal. Anil offered him to stay with him and to teach how to read and write.
Gradually, Anil develops trust in Hari Singh. But Hari Singh was waiting for
the right opportunity to do what he was best at. After stealing money, he tried
to go away forever but some inner voice stopped him from doing so. He returned
to Anil because he wanted to live a life of respect. Anil did not show that he
knew the incident and accepted Hari with open hands. Thus, a well-intentioned
person, Anil changed Had Singh and brought him on the right path. The story
shows that trust and spirit to forgive someone can bring big changes in
someone‘s life.
2
The Thief‘s Story‘ is an in-depth study of the human
mind. How?
Answer
The human mind is a very complex thing. It is a mixture of
opposite opinions. Sometimes a man fails to understand his own mind. In this
story, the same thing has been presented by Ruskin Bond through the character
of a thief boy Hari Singh. The boy starts working for Anil. His primary aim was
to rob him. Anil‘s carelessness wins his heart. But, the boy‘s bad mind
provokes him to rob Anil of his money. One day he robs his six hundred rupees
and runs away to the station. But his good mind stops him boarding the train.
He decides to come back to Anil and return his money. So this story is an
in-depth study of the human mind.
3
Why did Hari Singh decide to return the stolen money?
What light does it throw on his character?
Answer
After stealing the money when Hari Singh reached the station,
he could not board the Lucknow Express though he could easily get on it. He
stood alone on the deserted platform and thought about Anil who he knew would
feel only sadness for the loss of trust when he discovered the theft. He felt
that he should go back to Anil if only to read and write. So he decided to
return to Anil feeling very nervous. The thief was very grateful to Anil and
quite liked working for him. Since Anil was the most trusting man he had met.
Anil‘s confidence had awakened his conscience. He wanted to become a good man.
Anil could only make him a good man. So he decided to come back to Anil and
return the money that he had stolen.
4
Hari Singh believed that it was difficult to rob a man
like Anil. Do you think that he really appreciated kind people? Why do you
think he found it difficult to cheat a man like Anil? Discuss the values that
stop a person from doing something wrong.
Answer
Hari did appreciate kind people as is evident from the
story. In the descriptions that he gives about various people, Anil stands
apart. Perhaps it was the first time that anyone had done so much for Hari.
Later, as he was running away after robbing Anil, his conscience kept pricking
him. He was unable to betray the trust of the kind Anil. It was perhaps also
because Hari was not a hardened criminal. He had probably become a thief due to
circumstance, not by choice. His innate goodness and natural capacity to
distinguish right from wrong stopped him from doing further wrong. These values
help others too.
5
How did Hari Singh rob Anil of his six-hundred rupees?
What stopped him to rush away?
Answer
The thief boy met Anil. He found him an easy going person.
In his mind, he decided to rob him. He said that he would cook food for him. He
told Anil that his name was Hari Singh. Anil engaged him on work. He taught him
to cook the food and to read and write. Anil had no regular income. One day he
brought a small bundle of 600 rupees. He put the bundle under his mattress,
when he was fast asleep, the boy drew out the bundle under the mattress and ran
to the station to catch the Lucknow Mail at 10:30 p.m. The train had just
steamed off. But something stopped his feet to jump into the train compartment.
It was Anil‘s goodness and carelessness. He realized his folly and decided to
go back to Anil. So he went back and placed the money under the mattress.