The Thief’s Story

Read the following passage and do the activities.

A1. Relate the following qualities with the two characters of the story:

A2. State whether true or false:

1. Anil liked what the narrator cooked.
2. Anil taught the narrator to write his name.
3. Anil was a wealthy person.
4. Anil made money by fits and starts.

A3. Match the words to their meanings.

A4. Do as directed:

Frame 'Wh' questions with reference to the phrases underlined below. (Change the first person pronouns to second person)

1. He taught me to write my name.
2. I think he knew I made a little money this way but he did not seem to mind.

A5. Give a brief description of Anil and the narrator's characters.

Complete the given sentence.

The moral of the story is ________.

Pick out from the story 3 or 4 examples of Code-mixing (Indian words used in English).

Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.

Why didn’t Anil hand over Hari to the police? What effect would it have had on Hari?

Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.

‘And the smile came by itself without any effort.’ Say why. When do people give fake smiles?

State whether the following statements are true or false.

Anil made money by fits and starts. He would borrow one week, lend the
next. He kept worrying about his next cheque, but as soon as it arrived he
would go out and celebrate. It seems he wrote for magazines — a queer way
to make a living!
One evening he came home with a small bundle of notes, saying he had
just sold a book to a publisher. At night, I saw him tuck the money under the
mattress.
            I had been working for Anil for almost a month and, apart from cheating on
the shopping, had not done anything in my line of work. I had every opportunity
for doing so. Anil had given me a key to the door, and I could come and go
as I pleased. He was the most trusting person I had ever met.
              And that is why it was so difficult to rob him. It’s easy to rob a greedy
man, because he can afford to be robbed; but it’s difficult to rob a careless
man — sometimes he doesn’t even notice he’s been robbed and that takes all
the pleasure out of the work.
          Well, it’s time I did some real work, I told myself; 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.
           Anil was asleep. A beam of moonlight stepped over the balcony and fell on
the bed. I sat up on the floor, considering the situation. If I took the money, I
could catch the 10.30 Express to Lucknow. Slipping out of the blanket, I crept
up to the bed. Anil was sleeping peacefully. His face was clear and unlined;
even I had more marks on my face, though mine were mostly scars.
            My hand slid under the mattress, searching for the notes. When I found
them, I drew them out without a sound. Anil sighed in his sleep and turned on
his side, towards me. I was startled and quickly crawled out of the room.

(a) Anil writes for magazines for a living -
(b) Anil kept a small bundle of notes in a cupboard -
(c) The narrator used to cheat Anil on the shopping -
(d) After stealing the money the narrator quickly crawled out of the room -

(A2) Complete the following sentences with the help of the given passage.
(1) The narrator was thinking to catch
(2) When Anil was sleeping peacefully, his face was
(3) The narrator slid his hands under the mattress to
(4) The narrator thought that If he didn’t take money, Anil would only waste

(A3) Cross out the odd man.
(i) blanket, magazine, maintain, mattress.

(ii) rob, take, time, search.
(iii) queer, small, greedy, pleasure
(iv) quickly, mostly, money, peacefully.

(A4) Rewrite the following sentences by choosing correct tail tag given in the
brackets.
(does he ?, didn’t he ?, isn’t it?, wasn’t he?, doesn’t he?, is it?)
(i) Anil was sleeping peacefully.
(ii) He doesn’t even notice he’s been robbed.
(iii) Anil kept worrying about his next cheque.
(iv) It’s difficult to rob a careless man.

(A5) What will you do if you are robbed by someone you know very well?

Think and write in your own words, in your notebook.

What did Hari learn from Anil in the beginning?

Complete the web diagram.