Chapter 2: The Thief's Story

Important questions — the ones the board asked most (11)

1. Q1Long answer6 marksAsked: 2026

   11. Answer any one of the following two questions in 100 – 120 words : 6 (a) Support with textual evidence, the themes of ‘empathy over punishment’ in ‘The Thief’s Story’. OR (b) The inability to accept one’s real circumstances led to suffering and an unhappy life, as reflected through the character of Matilda in ‘The Necklace’. Analyze.

   

   Medha Ma’am

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   Model answer · The Thief's Story, themes

   1. 1.In 'The Thief's Story', Ruskin Bond shows that empathy changes a person where punishment would not. Anil trusts Hari Singh, a fifteen-year-old thief, completely. He gives him a key to the door so that he can come and go as he pleases, and Hari calls him "the most trusting person I had ever met." Anil treats him kindly and has faith that he can change, so he teaches him to cook, to read and to write. Even so, Hari steals Anil's 600 rupees and runs to catch the Lucknow Express. He hesitates on the platform and misses the train. He then remembers that "whole sentences" could one day make him "a really big man, a clever and respected man", and Anil's gentle behaviour pricks his conscience. Feeling guilty, he returns the money under the mattress. The next morning Anil hands him a fifty-rupee note that is "still wet from the night's rain". Anil knows about the theft, but "neither his lips nor his eyes showed anything." He does not hand Hari over to the police. He only says, "Today we'll start writing sentences." This compassion transforms Hari, and his smile now comes "by itself, without any effort."6 marks

   • Name at least three things Anil does: he trusts Hari Singh, treats him kindly and teaches him to cook, read and write.
   • Write that Hari feels guilty and returns the money, and that Anil's compassion pricks his conscience and transforms him.
   • Quote the proof that Anil knew and still forgave: the note "still wet from the night's rain" and "Today we'll start writing sentences."

   Marks split as in the board’s published marking scheme

2. Q2Long answer6 marksAsked: 2025

   Answer any one of the following two questions in 100 - 120 words : (a) Anil’s acceptance and forgiveness of the thief demonstrates empathy and generosity. Elaborate. (The Thief’s Story) OR (b) Trace the transformation of Richard Ebright from a young man with potential to a respected and accomplished scientist. (The Making of a Scientist)

   

   Medha Ma’am

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   Hear it from Medha Ma’am · 80 s

   Model answer · Anil's character, forgiveness

   1. 1.Anil's acceptance and forgiveness of the thief show empathy and generosity, because he forgives the boy and helps him change instead of punishing him. Anil is compassionate and understanding. He takes in the fifteen-year-old 'Hari Singh' even though he cannot pay him, and he laughs off the boy's terrible cooking. He is generous and kind. He gives the boy a key and does not mind the rupee the boy makes on the shopping. He also creates a love for education by teaching him to write, and this is what brings the thief back. When Anil finds the fifty-rupee note still wet from the rain, he knows the truth. Yet he does not believe in revenge and does not hand the boy over to the police. By saying, "Today we'll start writing sentences," he shows that he believes in transformation and gives the thief a chance of redemption and reformation.6 marks

   • Name three of Anil's qualities, such as compassionate, generous and forgiving, and back each one with an example from the story.
   • Mention the wet fifty-rupee note and Anil's words "Today we'll start writing sentences" to show that he gave the thief a chance of redemption and reformation.
   • Write that Anil did not hand the boy over to the police, to show that he did not believe in revenge.

   Marks split as in the board’s published marking scheme

3. Q3Short answer6 marksAsked: 2023

   9. Answer any two of the following questions in about 40 – 50 words each : (a) How did Hari Singh justify to himself his stealing Anil’s money ? (b) How did Ebright’s mother help him to become a scientist ? (c) Why was Mr. Herriot shocked at Tricki’s appearance ?

   

   Medha Ma’am

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   Hear it from Medha Ma’am · 90 s

   Model answer · Hari Singh's excuses; Ebright's mother

   1. 1.(a) Hari Singh justified the theft by telling himself that he was not being paid any regular salary. At the start, Anil had told him that he could not pay him, so Hari said to himself, "After all, he doesn't even pay me." He also told himself that it was time he did some real work, as he was out of practice.1 mark
   2. 2.He felt that Anil was extravagant and careless with money. Anil made money by fits and starts and went out to celebrate as soon as a cheque arrived. Hari thought that a careless man sometimes does not even notice that he has been robbed.1 mark
   3. 3.Hari also told himself that Anil would spend his money on his friends anyway, so if he did not take it, the money would only be wasted.1 mark
   4. 4.(b) Ebright's mother played an important role in helping him to become a scientist.1 mark
   5. 5.She discovered his scientific temperament early and encouraged him, supporting his curiosity and his interest in learning.1 mark
   6. 6.She took him on trips and bought him a telescope, a microscope, a camera and other equipment. These helped him to study and explore things for himself.1 mark

   • For (a), write all three excuses: "not being paid any regular salary", Anil being "extravagant and careless", and that Anil "would spend his money on his friends anyway".
   • For (b), write that his mother "discovered his scientific temperament" and "encouraged him".
   • For (b), name the things she gave him: trips, a telescope, a microscope and a camera.

   Marks split as in the board’s published marking scheme

4. Q4Long answer6 marksAsked: 2024

   Answer any one of the following two questions in 100 - 120 words. (a) Imagine that Hari Singh from 'The Thief's Story' by Ruskin Bond, writes a diary entry, exploring the theme of human values and relations that are essential in life and can transform a person in the context of his own experience. Write this diary entry as Hari Singh. OR (b) A character arc is the transformation or development of a character throughout a story and refers to the changes a character undergoes as a result of his/her experiences, challenges and interactions with other characters. In the light of the above information, trace the character arc of Bholi in K.A. Abbas's 'Bholi'.

   How the model answer begins

   1. Monday, 10 p.m. Dear Diary, Tonight I look back on how trust and kindness changed me. I was still a thief when I met Anil at a wrestling match. I used a little flattery and my most appealing smile to win his confidence,…

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5. Q5Long answer6 marksAsked: 2025

   11. Answer any one of the following two questions in 100 - 120 words : (a) How did Anil bring about a change in Hari Singh? (The Thief's Story) OR (b) In what ways does Think-Tank misinterpret innocent nursery rhymes as threats to the Martians? (The Book That Saved the Earth)

   How the model answer begins

   1. Anil changed Hari Singh through kindness, trust and silent forgiveness. Hari could not cook, and Anil gave his first meal to a stray dog. Even so, Anil kept him and promised to teach him to cook, to write whole…

   The full answer from Medha Ma’am →
6. Q6Short answer3 marksAsked: 2026

   Why does Hari Singh find it pleasant to work for Anil, though he was a thief ? (The Thief’s Story)

   How the model answer begins

   1. Hari Singh found it pleasant to work for Anil because Anil was easy-going, kind and simple. Anil did not scold him even when the meal he cooked was so terrible that it had to be given to a stray dog; instead, he laughed…

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7. Q7Short answer3 marksAsked: 2025

   What led the narrator to believe that 'friends were more trouble than help' ? (The Thief's Story)

   How the model answer begins

   1. The narrator, Hari Singh, believed that friends were more trouble than help because he lived as a thief, and for a thief being alone was better. A friend or accomplice would know too much about him and could reveal his…

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8. Q8Short answer3 marksAsked: 2023

   Why does Anil not hand over Hari Singh to the police ?

   How the model answer begins

   1. Anil did not hand Hari Singh over to the police because he wanted to give him another chance to reform. Even though he came to know that Hari Singh had stolen his money and returned it, he pretended not to know anything…

   The full answer from Medha Ma’am →
9. Q9Short answer3 marksAsked: 2023

   How did Hari Singh justify to himself his stealing Anil’s money ?

   How the model answer begins

   1. Hari Singh justified stealing Anil's money by telling himself that Anil was not paying him any regular salary for his work. He also felt that Anil was extravagant and careless with money. So he told himself that if he…

   The full answer from Medha Ma’am →
10. Q10Short answer3 marksAsked: 2023

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

    How the model answer begins

    1. Hari Singh says that in his short career as a thief he had studied the faces of men who had lost their goods. The greedy man showed panic.

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11. Q11Short answer3 marksAsked: 2023

    Why did Hari Singh smile in his most appealing way towards the end of the story?

    How the model answer begins

    1. Hari Singh smiled in his most appealing way because he realised that Anil knew about his act of theft and had forgiven him. The fifty-rupee note Anil gave him the next morning was still wet from the night's rain, so…

    The full answer from Medha Ma’am →

Questions parents and students ask

How many marks does "The Thief's Story" carry in CBSE Class 10 English?

In the CBSE papers of 2023–2026, this chapter carried about 1 marks and about 0 questions a year; by marks it ranks 18 in English.

Which are the most important (VVI) questions of "The Thief's Story"?

The 11 questions above are from the board’s real papers, each with the years it was asked; the most-asked come first with their full model answers. All 11 written questions of this chapter, with answers, are in the AskMedha app.

Do the answers follow the board’s marking scheme?

Yes. CBSE publishes its marking schemes; every model answer here is written point by point to the marks the board’s own scheme gives, and checked by a second, independent model.