'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 kettles cannot boil;
His are the feet that bring in mud,
And all the carpets soil.
The papers always are 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.
Unknown
Oral Exercise. 1. Read the poem again in order to see which of the four stanzas you like best. Can you tell why? Look through the poem and tell all the things that Mr. Nobody does. Which of them has he done at your house?
2. Did you ever see Mr. Nobody at your house? Do you think you could catch sight of him if you looked in the mirror? Make believe that you did see him at your house. Tell your classmates exactly how he looked.[52]
Group Exercise. As each pupil gives the class a picture of Mr. Nobody the class will say whether this picture looks like the pupil speaking. Then the class will point out what they liked and what they did not like in that pupil's way of speaking. These questions will help in this work:
1. Did the pupil stand squarely on both feet, or was he so weak that he had to hold onto a chair or desk to keep from falling over?
2. Did he speak so clearly that every one in the class could understand him?
3. Did he make a stop at the end of every sentence and drop his voice there to show that the sentence was finished?
4. Did he use too many and's?