Raintree 3 Mr Nobody

 Summary: Mr Nobody

The poem is about a mysterious little person who creates a lot of mischief in the house and

does not get caught. This person is called ‘Mr Nobody’ because nobody has ever seen him—

he moves around very quietly. He makes a mess of things in the house.

Though nobody in the family has seen him, everyone thinks that he is the one to be blamed

for cracking the plates in the house. He leaves the door open. He also pulls buttons from

shirts and scatters pins on the floor. The door squeaks for he has not done the oiling. Mr.

Nobody is blamed for more naughty actions. He uses wood that is a little wet and so the

kettle cannot boil. He brings mud into the house and soils the carpets. He scatters papers

everywhere and throws them around. Mr Nobody also leaves his finger marks on the door.

He does not close the blinds and so lets the curtains fade. He spills ink and leaves his boots

lying on the floor.

The poem is set in a house. While reading the poem, we know that every home has a

Mr Nobody. The main idea of this poem is that mischief. The child who has done the

mischief never owns up to it. Though the poem appears to be funny, it conveys the message

that we must take responsibility for our actions and must not blame others for it. We must

be truthful, honest and develop good habits. We must work together to look after our

homes.

The lines 2 and 4 of each stanza rhyme. The senses of sight, hearing and touch are used to

make the poem more interesting. Sight – mud, marks, curtains fade, books, door ajar;

hearing - quiet, break, cracked, tears, squeak and touch - damp.

POEM: MR NOBODY

Comprehension

A. 1. at someone’s home

2. Mr Nobody is like a mouse because he comes and does his mischief very quietly.

3. Mr Nobody cracks plates, tears books, leaves the door unlocked, pulls buttons from shirts, scatters

pine leaves in the house. He forgets to oil the squeaky door. He piles the fireplace with firewood

that is still damp, walks on the carpet with muddy shoes, misplaces the newspapers, leaves

fingerprints on doors, leaves the blinds open, spills ink and leaves the boots lying all over the place.

4. It is important to oil the doors of the house to stop them from squeaking.

5. The curtains fade because the blinds are left open.

B. Suggested answers (Accept any logical answer)

 Either the speaker or another child at home is doing all the mischief at home. This person does all the

mischief and blames it on Mr Nobody. Mr Nobody does not really exist.

C.

see touch hear

marks on the door damp wood quiet as a mouse

broken plates scattered pines squeaking door

torn books boiling kettles

scattered pines

mud

soiled carpets

mislaid papers

faded curtains

spilt ink

boots lying around

D. Suggested answers (Accept any logical answer)

1. tell him to own up his mistakes – wipe feet – use dustbin – keep doors and windows locked – must

be responsible towards our own home and be responsible about it all the time

2. First accept the mistake, then offer to clear up. Later, we must be careful and not repeat such

actions.

MR NOBODY POEM

A. Answer in brief.

1. What kind of a house is this poem set in?

 Ans: The poem is set in a house where things get broken, misplaced and thrown around by an

unseen person. His behaviour messes up the house.

2. Why does Mr Nobody put damp wood upon the fire?

 Ans: Mr Nobody puts damp wood upon the fire so that the fire cannot burn and the kettles

cannot boil.

3. Why is this person named Mr Nobody?

 Ans: This person is named Mr. Nobody to show that he is a mysterious character, as he moves

around very quietly and no one has ever seen him.

B. Answer in detail.

1. What is this poem about?

 Ans: The poem is about a mysterious person who creates a lot of mischief in the house and gets

away with it. He breaks things, dirties the house, leaves his prints everywhere, soils the carpet and

the curtains. When things are misplaced in the house, everyone points their finger at Mr Nobody,

yet he never gets caught as no one has ever seen him. Mr Nobody is probably the little boy or girl

of the household.

C. Read the lines and answer the questions.

1. ‘Tis he who always tears our books,

 Who leaves the door ajar,

 He pulls the buttons from our shirts,

 And scatters pine afar;

 a. Who is ‘he?’

 b. What does he do to everyone’s books?

 c. What does he do to everyone’s shirts?

 Ans: a. He is Mr Nobody.

 b. He tears everyone’s books.

 c. He pulls out the buttons from everyone’s shirts.

2. The papers always are mislaid,

 Who had them last but he?

 There’s no one tosses them about

 But Mr. Nobody.

 a. Who misplaces the papers always and tosses them around?

 b. How do we know that this is done by Mr Nobody?

 c. Who could Mr Nobody be?

 Ans: a. Mr Nobody misplaces the papers always and tosses them around.

 b. We know that this is done by Mr Nobody as he is the one who had them last.

 c. Mr Nobody could be the child of the house.