Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follow.
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 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.
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.
According to the poem, why will the squeaking door “always squeak”?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → No one in the house takes the trouble to oil it
The poem says, “We leave the oiling to be done / By Mr. Nobody”.
- Mr. Nobody is not a real person. So the oiling is left to nobody.
- No one oils the door, and so it goes on squeaking.
- The family is too lazy to do the job and pretends it is someone else’s work.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Mr. Nobody keeps breaking its hinges — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The poem says nothing about broken hinges. The door squeaks because it is not oiled.
Option 2: The door is too old to be repaired — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The poem does not say the door is old. A little oil would stop the squeak.
Option 4: The family likes the sound that it makes — Incorrect. Wrong reason: Nothing in the poem shows that the family enjoys the sound. The door squeaks only because no one oils it.