Unlock the mysteries of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 2: “The Thief’s Story” with comprehensive question-and-answer explanations. Immerse yourself in the gripping narrative of a reformed thief, exploring the complexities of human nature and redemption. These meticulously curated solutions ensure a seamless understanding of the chapter’s themes, characters, and plot. Enhance your literary comprehension and excel in your exams with this valuable resource. Delve into the world of storytelling and moral dilemmas, cultivating critical thinking and appreciation for literature.
The Thief’s Story Questions and Answers Class 10
Page no. 8
• Read and Find Out
Q1. Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Ans : In the story, ‘I’ refers to the narrator who is a young boy who introduces himself as ‘Hari Singh’. Although he is just a fifteen-year-old boy, he is an experienced thief and a liar.
Q2. What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
Ans : The young narrator introduces himself as a fifteen-year old thief. He describes himself as an experienced and fairly successful hand. If a thief has ‘a fairly successful hand’, it means that he is good at thieving and not getting caught.
Q3. What does he get from Anil in return for his work?
Ans : Anil told Hari that he could not pay him. But Hari found Anil to be the right kind of guy who could be cheated. So, he asked Anil if he could feed him. Anil asked him if he could cook, and Hari lied and said he could. So, Anil took Hari in but soon realised that Hari could not cook. Anil asked him to leave but Hari hung around and smiled appealingly so Anil was amused and let him stay. Then, Anil taught him to cook and to write his name. He also told him that he would teach him to write whole sentences. Then, Hari started making tea in the morning and then went off to buy the day’s supplies. He took his time buying them and made a profit of about a rupee a day and Anil knew about it but did not seem to mind.
Page no. 10
Read And Find Out
Q1. How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Ans : According to Hari, when Anil would discover the theft, his face would show a touch of sadness, not for the loss of money but for the loss of trust.
Q2. What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?
Ans : Although Hari was only fifteen years old, he had made an observation of men’s faces when they lost their goods. According to him, the greedy man showed fear, the rich man showed anger and the poor man showed acceptance.
Q3. Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?
Ans : Yes, Anil knew that he had been robbed because the notes were dry when he kept them under his bed but in the morning, they were all wet from the rain. He would have understood that Hari had robbed him and fled in the night, but some good sense prevailed and he must have come back. And because Hari was outside in the rain, the notes got wet.
Page no. 13
Think about it
Q1. What are Hari Singh’s reactions at the prospect of receiving an education? Do they change overtime? {Hint: compare, for example, the thought: ‘I knew that once I could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what I could achieve’ with these later thoughts:
‘Whole sentences, I knew, could one day bring me more than a few hundred rupees. It was a simple matter to steal and sometimes just as simple to be caught. But to be a really big man, a clever and respected man, was something else.’) What makes him return to Anil?
Ans : Hari Singh’s reactions to the prospect of receiving an education do change over time. He was a young boy of fifteen. He wanted to cheat Anil, but Anil taught Hari how to cook and to write his name. He told him that he would soon teach him to write whole sentences and to add numbers. Hari thought that once he could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what he could achieve by conning people using his cunningness. When he stole Anil’s money and ran off, he justified the theft by stating that Anil would have given him just two or three rupees to go to the cinema, but now he had it all. But that is when he realised that he would not be able to learn to write whole sentences any more. He realised that it was easy to steal but to learn to read and write and become a really big man, a clever and respected man in the society, was much better. So, he decided to go back to Anil.
Q2. 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?
Ans : Anil was a writer, so he was perhaps sensitive to the needs of others. When Hari said that he knew how to cook food but made bad food, Anil allowed him to stay because he smiled in the most appealing way. Anil also knew that Hari made a little money while buying the day’s supplies but he did not seem to mind. Any other person would have not liked it and would have asked Hari to leave. But Anil continued to keep him and taught him to write his name and told him that he would teach him to write whole sentences and add numbers. Later, Hari stole the money but put it back, so Anil must have realised that although a thief, Hari has a conscience. And perhaps he wanted to give Hari a second chance to become a better person. Any other employer who is not as empathetic as Anil.
Page no. 13
Think about it
Q1. Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or are there such people in real life?
Ans : No, I think people like Anil and Hari Singh are real. We often see children working in small towns and cities, and not many of us are sensitive to their needs. Some children may have come from villages in the hope of better prospects but got into bad company and become thieves and pickpockets. But there is some hope in people like Anil who are willing to trust people, bring them home and help them understand the importance of education and good thinking.
Q2. Do you think it is a significant detail i story that Anil is a struggling writer? this explain his behaviour in any way?
Ans : Yes, I think it is a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer because only a thinking person can have feelings for his counterparts. He knew that Hari was cheating him while buying the day’s supplies, but he wanted Hari to be a better man. He also knew that Hari had robbed him, but he tried to behave normal. An ordinary human being would have handed over Hari to the police but Anil believed that there is some goodness in everyone, probably because he was himself a struggling writer who lived alone and understood the harsh realities of being on one’s own.
Q3. Have you met anyone like Hari Singh? Can you think and imagine the circumstances that can turn a fifteen year old boy into a thief?
Ans : No, I haven’t met anyone like Hari Singh. Hari Singh must have been from a poor family. So he probably went off from home to earn a living and got into bad ways. Hari could have been an orphan too. There is no mention of his parents so he was alone in the city and to survive, he must have taken to thieving.
Q4. Where is the story set? (You can get clues from the names of the persons and places mentioned in it). Which language or languages are spoken in these places? Do you think the characters in the story spoke to each other in English?
Ans : The story is probably set in one of the cities of Uttar Pradesh because Hari decides to go to Lucknow after stealing the money. No, Hari was illiterate so definitely Hari and Anil did not converse in English. Hari being a poor boy would be speaking Awadhi and Hindi and since Anil was a writer, he would be educated but would be speaking to Hari in Hindi.