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Lines from the poem
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Paraphrase
(Literal Meaning – maksud tersurat)
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Stanza
1
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I know a funny little man,
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I know a strange man.
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As quiet as a mouse,
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He hardly makes a noise.
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Who does the mischief that is done
In everybody’s house!
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He is blamed for all the trouble that
happens in everyone’s home.
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There is no one ever sees his face,
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No one has ever seen him
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And yet we all agree
That every plate we break was cracked
By Mr Nobody
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But he is blamed when plates get broken.
His name is Mr Nobody.
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Stanza
2
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‘Tis he who always tears our books,
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Nobody admits being responsible for the
torn books.
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Who leaves the door ajar,
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Nobody admits to having left the doors
open.
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He pulls the buttons from our shirts,
And scatters pins afar;
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Nobody is responsible for tearing the
buttons of the shirts; or throwing the pins about
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That squeaking door will always squeak,
For, prithee, don’t you see,
We leave the oiling to be done
By Mr Nobody.
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Nobody is responsible for oiling that
squeaky door. The door will always squeak because nobody oils it.
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Stanza
3
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He puts damp wood upon the fire,
That kettles cannot boil;
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If damp wood is put in the fire so the
water in the kettle will not boil, nobody will admit doing it.
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His are the feet that bring in mud,
And all the carpets are soil.
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When the carpets are dirtied nobody
admits to coming in with muddy shoes.
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The papers are always mislaid,
Who had them but he?
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The newspaper often goes missing but
nobody admits being last one to read them.
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There’s no one tosses them about
But Mr Nobody
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And nobody admits to throwing them all
over the place.
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Stanza
4
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The finger marks upon the door
By none of us are made;
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None of us will admit being the person
who left the dirty finger prints on the door.
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We never leave the blinds unclosed,
To let the curtains fade;
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Or having left the blinds unclosed.
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The ink we never spill; the boots
That lying around you see
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No one admits having spilled the ink. Or
having left our boots lying around.
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Are not our boots – they all belong
To Mr Nobody
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So, for all the acts, the only one to
blame is “Mr Nobody”
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Source: http://www.scribd.com
