NCERT Book Class 10 English (Foot Prints Without feet) Chapter 2 The Thief's Story

The Thief's Story 2
A young boy makes friends with Anil.
Anil trusts him completely and employs
him. Does the boy betray his trust?

READ AND FIND OUT
• Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
• What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
• What does he get from Anil in return for his work?

I WAS still a thief when I met Anil. And though only 15, I was an
experienced and fairly successful hand.
Anil was watching a wrestling match when I approached him. He
was about 25 — a tall, lean fellow — and he looked easy-going, kind
and simple enough for my purpose. I hadn’t had much luck of late and
thought I might be able to get into the young man’s confidence.
“You look a bit of a wrestler yourself,” I said. A little flattery helps
in making friends.
“So do you,” he replied, which put me off for a moment because at
that time I was rather thin.
“Well,” I said modestly, “I do wrestle a bit.”
“What’s your name?”
“Hari Singh,” I lied. I took a new name every month. That kept me
ahead of the police and my former employers.
After this introduction, Anil talked about the well-oiled wrestlers
who were grunting, lifting and throwing each other about. I didn’t
have much to say. Anil walked away. I followed casually.
“Hello again,” he said.
I gave him my most appealing smile. “I want to work for you,” I said.
“But I can’t pay you.”