The Thief's Story — RBSE Class 10 English (Footprints without Feet)

A practised young thief finds his easiest victim yet — a trusting, careless man who feeds him and teaches him to read. The thief steals his money and runs for the train. And then, on a wet platform, something he did not expect happens: his conscience catches up with him. This is Ruskin Bond's quiet story about how trust can change a life.

1. The story in brief

The narrator is Hari Singh, an experienced 15-year-old thief who changes his name with every job. At a wrestling match he targets Anil — a tall, easy-going man in his mid-twenties who lives by writing. Hari offers to work for him, admitting he cannot cook well; Anil good-humouredly lets him stay, on the condition that Hari will be taught to read and write instead of being paid a wage. Anil feeds him, treats him kindly, and never checks up on him — even though Hari skims a little money off the daily shopping, which Anil quietly notices but ignores with a smile.

One night Hari sees Anil receive a bundle of notes and hides them under the mattress. Unable to resist, Hari steals the money while Anil sleeps and runs to the railway station to catch the night train to Lucknow.

But on the cold, wet platform, he lets the train go. He realises that the money matters less than what he would lose: Anil's trust, and the chance to learn to read and write — a skill that could lift him far higher than petty theft. He returns in the rain and silently slips the notes back under the mattress.

The next morning Anil, who seems to know the money had been taken and returned (the notes are still damp from the rain), says nothing about it. He simply hands Hari a fifty-rupee note as his first week's "pay" and promises to start teaching him to write whole sentences soon. Hari smiles — he has found something more valuable than stolen money.

2. Themes

• Trust transforms. Anil's refusal to suspect or police Hari is what ultimately reforms him. Being trusted made Hari want to deserve that trust.
• The value of education. Hari realises that the ability to read and write could earn him real respect and a better life — worth far more than money.
• Kindness and second chances. Anil's quiet generosity (and his choice not to confront Hari) gives the boy a chance to change without humiliation.
• The pull of conscience. Hari's decision on the platform shows a moral awakening — the first stirrings of a desire to be honest.

3. The characters

• Hari Singh — a clever, observant young thief; experienced beyond his years, but capable of change. His inner conflict drives the story.
• Anil — a carefree, kind-hearted struggling writer; trusting, generous and wise enough to reform Hari through patience rather than punishment.

4. Why it matters

The story's gentle genius is that Anil never lectures Hari. He doesn't catch him, scold him or threaten the police. He simply keeps trusting him and keeps teaching him — and that trust does what no punishment could. The "theft" that matters in the end is not the money but the risk Anil takes on a stranger, and the change it works.

For the RBSE board, hold on to the turning point (Hari lets the train go on the platform), why he changes (he values Anil's trust and the chance to learn over the money), the telling detail of the damp notes that hint Anil knew, and the central themes of trust and education. Hari's moral conflict is a favourite value-based question.