Back to: Maharashtra Board Class 6th English Guide & Notes
Table of Contents
Introduction
The poet describes a little criminal who is very stealthy and never caught while he messes things all over the house in his light and humorous poem. The poem has three stanzas and follows the abcbdefe.
First Stanza
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.
There is a child in every house who very quietly does all sorts of mischief and is never seen. Every plate that was sacrificed for his play is agreed to be broken by a certain Mr Nobody. Perhaps the poet is humorously telling that when the child is asked if he has broken it, he declines and so the family says that no one has done it, in essence, Mr Nobody did it.
Second Stanza
Tis he who always tears out 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.
It is Mr Nobody that tears the books and leaves the doors ajar. He creates a mess by scattering pins everywhere and pulls out the buttons from shirts. The door will continue to squeak because just as he breaks everything, now Mr Nobody is supposed to fix it too by oiling it.
Third Stanza
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.
