I know a funny little man,As quiet as a mouse,
Who does the mischief that is done
In everybody's house!
There's no one ever sees his face,
And yet we all agree
That every plate we break was cracked
By Mr. Nobody.
'Tis he who always tears our books,
Who leaves the door ajar,
He pulls the buttons from our shirts,
And scatters pins afar;
That squeaking door will always squeak,
For, prithee, don't you see,
We leave the oiling to be done
By Mr. Nobody.
He puts damp wood upon the fire,
That kettle cannot boil;
His are the feet that bring in mud,
And all the carpets soil.
The papers always mislaid,
Who had them last but he?
There's no one tosses them about
But Mr. Nobody.
The finger marks upon the door
By none of us are made;
We never leave the blinds unclosed,
To let the curtains fade;
The ink we never spill; the boots
That lying round you see
Are not our boots-they all belong
To Mr. Nobody.
Understanding Mr. Nobody
Wordworth
mischief: conduct that is troublesome but not mallicious
ajar: open slightly
scatter: to be dispersed all over the place
prithee: pray, please (old English)
oiling: to apply oil on to something
soil: bits of earth or to make dirty
mislaid: misplace, not in the proper place
blinds: screens for a window
The author of the poem is anonymous. It is a four-verse poem in which bad things such as cracked plates, missing buttons on shirts that happen around the house are blamed on Mr. Nobody.
Paraphrase of the poem
Stanza 1
Mr.Nobody is small person who moves around everybody's house quietly like a mouse. He does all the funny things that happen in every house. We can feel his presence but we have not seen him. Everyone agrees that everything that has a crack was done by Mr. Nobody.
Stanza 2
He is the one who tears pages from the books and leaves the door open. He pulls the buttons from the shirts and drops the pins around. The door has a squeak and it will always squeak because it has not been oiled. We leave the oiling to Mr.Nobody.
Stanza 3
Mr.Nobody puts damp wood on the fire. Thus, the fire cannot burn properly and the water in the kettle cannot boil. The muddy footprints on the carpet belong to Mr. Nobody. The papers also are not put back in the right place after Mr. Nobody has read them.
Stanza 4
Mr. Nobody leaves his finger marks on the door. No one other than Mr. Nobody will leave the blinds open. We don't do it as we don't want the curtains to fade. He also spills ink around and he leaves his boots about the house.
Learn more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpWEOAWfVS8
TEST YOUR MIND
1. In the poem, Mr. Nobody most probably refers to ___________________
A. our own relative
B. a lazy member in a family
C. a strange looking little man
D. anyone doing mischief in anybody's house
2. Why didn't the water in the kettle boil?
A. 'Mr. Nobody' placed damp wood on the fire.
B. 'Mr.Nobody' didn't know how to use a kettle.
C. 'Mr. Nobody' didn't use the right type of wood
D. 'Mr.Nobody' didn't know how to light the fire
3. Which of the following incident is NOT mentioned in stanza 2?
A. 'Mr.Nobody' leaves the door open.
B. 'Mr.Nobody,' oils the squeaking door.
C. 'Mr.Nobody' scatters pins all over the floor.
D. 'Mr. Nobody' pulls out buttons from shirts.
4. In stanza 4, the poet talks about the fading curtains. How did the curtains fade?
A. Because the grills were closed.
B. Because the blinds were left open.
C. Because the curtains are washed every day.
D. Because the windows were left open on a hot day.
5. All the following moral values are implied in the poem except _______________
A. being responsible
B. taking care of oneself
C. to be brave to tell the truth
D. everyone makes mistakes
ANSWERS
1. D 2. A 3. B 4. B 5. B
