NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 2 – The Thief’s Story

The NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 2 – “The Thief’s Story” provide detailed and thoughtful answers to all the questions in the chapter. Written by Ruskin Bond, this story revolves around a young, 15-year-old thief named Hari Singh and his encounter with Anil, a kind-hearted man who offers him a place to stay and work. Over time, Hari starts to question his life of crime as he develops trust and respect for Anil, who teaches him valuable life lessons without knowing Hari’s intentions.

Here Are The NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 2 – The Thief’s Story

Question 1:

Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?

Answer:

In the story, ‘I’ refers to the narrator of the story Hari Singh, who was a fifteen-year-old thief.

Question 2:

What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?

Answer:

He is “a fairly successful hand” at stealing and robbing people. By this, he meant that he was an experienced thief who was very swift and adept in his work while robbing people without getting caught.

Question 3:

What does he get from Anil in return for his work?

Answer:

When Hari contacted Anil for employment, Anil made it obvious that he couldn’t pay him for it. So he requested Hari to cook for him so that he could eat and stay with him. However, when he saw that the little kid did not know how to cook, he taught him how to cook and write his name. Anil also promised to teach him how to write whole sentences and calculate numbers. In addition, Anil provided Hari money to buy daily supplies, from which the latter would benefit by a rupee every day.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 2 – The Thief’s Story

Read and Find Out

Question 1:

How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?

Answer:

Hari, the thief, thought that on discovering his theft, Anil would be filled with sadness, not because of the loss of money, but for losing the trust he had in him.

Question 2:

What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are robbed?

Answer:

In his short career as a thief, Hari’s experience had made him aware of the different reactions of people when they were robbed. According to him, a greedy man showed fear; a rich man exhibited anger and a poor man showed acceptance.

Question 3:

Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?

Answer:

Yes, Anil realised that he had been robbed by Hari. He probably came to know of it from the damp notes, which got wet due to rain the previous night. However, he didn’t express anything and gave a fifty rupee note to Hari and promised to pay him regularly.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 2 – The Thief’s Story

Think about it

Question 1:

What are Hari Singh’s reactions to the prospect of receiving an education? Do they change over time? (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?

Answer:

Hari was grateful to Anil for teaching him how to write his name. He was pleased to find that Anil would also teach him to write complete phrases.He saw that becoming an educated guy would enhance his talents and help him acquire a high social standing in life.However, after he takes money and flees Anil’s house, he realizes that education is a more gratifying experience, that stealing is a crime, and that he may soon be apprehended. He envisions the respect, prestige, and opportunities that he will be able to obtain if he becomes educated. As a result, he feels bad about tricking a nobleman who provided him with food and shelter.

Question 2:

Why does not Anil 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?

Answer:

Unlike others, Anil did not contact the police and turn Hari up on theft accusations. He was well aware of the theft from the moist notes, yet he did not thrash him or even bring it up in front of Hari. He was relieved that Hari had acknowledged his error and recognised the value of education in life.

In today’s world, finding somebody like Anil is difficult. Most individuals would not react the same way he did.He was very patient and considerate of Hari because he wanted him to be a well-educated guy who lived responsibly.

Anil was different from other such employers because he was very understanding and compassionate by nature. When Hari returned with the money, it gave him the hope that Hari wanted to mend his ways and grow up to become a noble and literate man.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 2 – The Thief’s Story

Talk about it

Question 1:

Do you think people like Anil and Hari Singh are found only in fiction, or are there such people in real life?

Answer:

People like Anil and Hari Singh are uncommon in the real world and are almost exclusively encountered in fiction. However, there may be occasions when we encounter individuals such as Anil. According to the account, Anil is a kind-hearted and compassionate person who is really worried about Hari’s education and future. When Hari stole Anil’s money, his guilt stabbed him, and he changed his attitude, realising the value of education for his future. As a result, identifying such fictitious persons in today’s world is quite difficult.

Question 2:

Do you think it a significant detail in the story that Anil is a struggling writer? Does this explain his behaviour in any way?

Answer:

Yes, a crucial aspect in the story reveals Anil’s struggles as a writer. His way of life was basic, with intermittent income, and he always spent money within his means. He earned money intermittently. He’d borrow one week, then lend the next. He continued fretting about his next paycheck, but as soon as it arrived, he went out to celebrate with his buddies. Hari saw that Anil was unable to pay him a wage since he lacked a consistent source of income. Hari, on the other hand, believed that, despite Anil’s lower salary, he never mistreated him and was always kind of him.

Question 3:

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?

Answer:

No, I have not encountered anyone like Hari Singh, but such people definitely exist in the world. A fifteen-year-old youngster may be forced to become a robber due to circumstances beyond his control. Most people commit crimes to provide for themselves or their families, or to satisfy their desires or addictions. It might also be to sustain themselves or to satisfy their desire to live a wealthy life, and so on.

Question 4:

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?

Answer:

The story is set near Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh. We understand this from the story’s description of a railway station for an express train to Lucknow. The existence of sweet shops, mandis, and bazaars demonstrates that the town is small and unsophisticated. We can suppose that the characters in the story spoke to one another in Hindi rather than English.