The Thief by
Ruskin Bond is a popular short story that revolves around the themes like
trust, betrayal, redemption, honesty and aspirations. As the story starts we
see a young boy of around fifteen is a thief, inexperienced and not so
successful. Well, to pursue his career a bit ahead, he is seeking a mentor kind
of person. Thus, in his search he meets Arun – a well-built man.
Arun agrees to
take him as his companion but doesn’t guarantee any salary. In fact, Deepak –
the supposed name of the young thief – gets food and shelter for doing petty
things for Arun. With no money coming, Deepak is often sullen and sad. However,
Arun has promised to teach him reading and writing which can shape up the
future of Deepak. This deal sparks a light of aspiration in his mind and he
grows hopeful for making a good future if he learnt reading and writing.
Well, after
some days Deepak spies on Arun and finds out that he is into something
suspicious and gets the wads of money which he keeps under the mattress. But
still he is not paying him anything. So, one night when Arun is fast asleep,
Deepak creeps beside his bed and runs away with a bunch of notes worth hundred
rupees. His plan is to take the train for Amritsar and have fun on that money
at least for a month or so. As he reaches the station, a strange feeling grips
him and he doesn’t board the train. He is caught in the dilemma, should he run
away and become a thief all his life, or learn reading and writing from Arun
and rise to a status of eminence.
His heart is
saying that he must go back and put the money back. He must look for a long-term
prospect in his life over a petty theft. As he starts walking down the road,
rain drenches him, and money also gets wet. He is worried but determined. He
goes back stealthily and put the wet money back under the mattress. In the
morning, Arun greets him and hands him a wet note of five rupees saying that he
has started making money, now he will give him stipend quite regularly. Deepak
is happy that Arun didn’t say anything about the previous night’s theft,
instead ignored his change of heart for the sake of honesty. A close look
reveals that Deepak got reward for his honesty and aspirations.
So, the moral
of the story is that for aspirations one has to embrace honesty and moral
conduct in his life. It is a good thing to note that for his aspirations to
become something big in his life, Deepak give up thievery and made mind to
learn skills like reading and writing.
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