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The Thief's Story is Chapter 2 of Footprints without Feet, the Class 10 English supplementary reader. The full text and its end-of-chapter questions are on the NCERT textbook page for The Thief's Story.
What happens in The Thief's Story?
The narrator is a 15-year-old thief who takes a new name every month; in this story he calls himself Hari Singh (NCERT, Chapter 2). He meets Anil, a man of about 25, at a wrestling match and decides he looks "simple enough" to cheat.
Hari asks for work. Anil cannot pay but offers food if he can cook. Hari lies that he can, cooks a meal so bad that Anil gives it to a stray dog, and stays anyway. Anil teaches him to cook and to write his name, and promises whole sentences and numbers next. Hari skims about a rupee a day from the shopping; Anil seems to know but does not mind.
Anil makes money by fits and starts, apparently by writing for magazines. One evening he sells a book and tucks the notes under his mattress. Hari steals them at night: 600 rupees in fifties. He runs to catch the 10.30 Express to Lucknow, hesitates as it pulls out, and misses it.
Sheltering under the clock tower at midnight, the notes damp from the rain, he realises that learning to read and write could make him "a clever and respected man". He goes back and slips the money under the mattress. Next morning Anil hands him a fifty-rupee note as his first wage. It is still wet from the rain. Anil knows, says nothing, and announces: "Today we'll start writing sentences."
Why does the thief return the money?
NCERT asks this in "Think about it", so prepare it first. Give three reasons, each tied to the text:
Education. Hari sees that "whole sentences" could one day bring him more than a few hundred rupees. Theft gives quick money; writing gives a future.
Anil's trust. Hari knows Anil's face would show "only a touch of sadness", not for the money but for the loss of trust.
Loneliness. On the deserted platform he has no friends and nowhere to go. The only person he knows well is the man he robbed.
What are the main themes?
Trust can reform a person. Anil gives Hari a key, a place to sleep and lessons, and that trust changes him.
Education as a way out. In the NCERT chapter, learning to write is worth more to Hari than the 600 rupees he stole.
Quiet forgiveness. Anil never accuses Hari. He pays him and moves on to the lesson.
How do you write a character sketch of Hari Singh and Anil?
Use claim, evidence, effect: one trait, one detail from the text, one line on what it shows.
Hari Singh is street-smart: he flatters Anil and uses his "most appealing smile" as a tool. He is dishonest about his name and his cooking. But he is ambitious, wanting to be "a really big man", and his conscience wins. In the last line his smile "came by itself, without any effort". For the first time it is real.
Anil is kind, trusting and careless with money; he borrows one week and lends the next. He is also wise: he sees through Hari but chooses to teach rather than punish. NCERT asks whether his being a struggling writer explains this. A good answer links his respect for words to his belief that Hari can learn.
Which exam questions should you practise?
Start with NCERT's questions at the end of the chapter, then these:
What makes Hari Singh return to Anil?
Why does Anil not hand the thief to the police? How is he different from most employers?
How do Hari's views on education change? Compare "no limit to what I could achieve" with "a clever and respected man".
How did Anil know about the theft, and why did he stay silent?
Write a character sketch of Hari Singh or Anil.
Worked plan for question 2: open with the wet note, which shows Anil knew. Give two reasons: he sees good in Hari, and he values the boy more than the money. End with the contrast: most employers would call the police; Anil offers a wage and a lesson.
If you used AI for a summary, check each detail against the chapter; our guide to matching an AI chapter summary to the actual pages shows how. The same claim-and-evidence habit helps with an analytical paragraph in Class 10 English, and a minute-per-mark plan for the exam hall stops one long answer eating your time.
If English revision is squeezing your science time, Fermi's AI tutor can work out what you already know in physics, chemistry or maths and build a plan for the session, so you sit down to a clear next step.
