Ruskin Bond’s “The Thief”

“The Thief” by Ruskin Bond is about an artful thief, Deepak, whose life is changed by Arun’s unspoken words and kind gestures.

Deepak, a 15-year-old boy is the narrator of this story. One day, he met a young writer of twenty-five named Arun, at a wrestling match. He gave him an artificial smile to have an acquaintance with him. Arun avoided him. Deepak asked him for work. Arun agreed to engage Deepak if he could cook food for both. The thief lied that he was a good cook. Arun had to throw the bad meal, prepared by Deepak to the dogs, on the first day. Arun taught cooking, writing and reading to Deepak.

Deepak made the morning tea and bought the daily supplies. Arun was aware of the fact that Deepak made a profit from the purchases. Arun is not a rich man. He borrowed money sometimes but repaid the loan whenever he earned money through his writings for magazines.

One day, Arun brought home a bundle of notes and put it under his mattress. The thief had not stolen anything there because Arun trusted him blindly. However, Deepak could not resist the temptation of getting the bundles of notes. When Arun had gone to sleep, he took the money and reached the railway station with six hundred rupees. He could have boarded the Lucknow Express but something held him back. There was a conflict in his mind. He did not want to betray the faith of Arun. Moreover, Arun was teaching him that could transform his life. The thief thought that Arun would be sad not for the loss of money but for the loss of trust he had in him. He returned to Arun in the rain and kept the money under the pillow.

The next morning, Arun had made tea before Deepak woke up. Arun offered him a fifty rupee note. He also promised to pay him regularly. The note was still wet. Deepak got to know that Arun had come to know about his misdeed but there was no sadness, anger or guilt in his mind. Instead, Arun said that they would start writing sentences that day. Deepak felt guilty and smiled shame-facedly.