lumber room essay type questions and answers

The Lumber Room Questions & Answers

Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Lumber Room Questions & Answers.

The story is written by Hector Hugh Munro – a British writer who is better known by the pen name ‘Saki’ and his stories depict the hypocrisies in the society of his time. After his mother’s death, he was sent back to England and was brought up by his cruel aunts who became the models on which Saki based many of the characters in his stories. Below are mentioned the questions and answers of this story and I have also shared The Vagabond Questions & Answers and The Vagabond Stanza-Wise Summary so, you can check these posts as well.

The Lumber Room Questions & Answers

Before going further with the questions and answers, let me tell you what the lumber room is.

What Is The Lumber Room?

The large houses of the wealthy people of Britain usually had a lot of old, well-built furniture which was neither sold nor discarded. So, one out-of-the way room was selected to store such pieces of furniture and that room was called the lumber room.

Question 1: Where were the children to be driven for a treat?

Answer: The children were to be driven to the sands at Jagborough for a treat.

Question 2: Why was Nicholas not allowed to go with the other children for a treat?

Answer: Nicholas was not allowed to go with the other children for a treat because he had himself put a frog in his breakfast and refused to eat it.

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Question 3: Why was Nicholas not allowed to go into the gooseberry garden?

Answer: Nicholas was not allowed to go into the gooseberry garden because he was in disgrace.

Question 4: Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

The dramatic part of the incident was that there really was a frog in

Nicholas’ basin of bread and milk.

(a) When did this incident take place?

Answer: This incident took place when the elders and the children were having breakfast at the dining table.

(b) How did the frog come into the basin of bread and milk?

Answer: Nicholas had himself put in the frog into the basin of milk.

(c) What was the result of the incident?

Answer: The result of this incident was that Nicholas was punished and could not go with his cousins to the expedition which his aunt had suddenly planned.

Question 5: Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

The children were to be driven, as a special treat, to the sands at Jagborough. Nicholas was not allowed as he was in disgrace. Only that morning he had refused to eat his wholesome bread and milk on the grounds that there was a frog in it.

(a) Find a word from the extract that means the same as ‘healthy and nutritious’.

Answer: Wholesome

(b) Why was Nicholas in disgrace?

Answer: Nicholas was in disgrace because he had refused to eat his wholesome bread and milk on the grounds that there was a frog in it.

(c) What was the punishment given by his aunt?

Answer: The punishment given by his aunt was that he was not allowed to go to the sands at Jagborough where the other children were going as a special treat.

Question 6: Why was Nicholas not allowed to go into the gooseberry garden?

Question 7: why did nicholas go to the gooseberry garden.

Answer: Nicholas went to the gooseberry garden to make his aunt believe that he intended to go to the gooseberry garden, thus to keep her busy by keeping a watch over the garden.

Question 8: Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

“You often don’t listen, when we tell you important things.”

(a) Who was complaining and to whom?

Answer: Nicholas was complaining to his aunt.

(b) What did the speaker tell the listener just before that?

Answer: Nicholas told his aunt that his cousin, Bobby’s boots were hurting him as they were too tight so he would not be having fun at Jagborough.

Question 9: Read the extract given below and answer the following questions.

In the afternoon, the aunt spent an hour or two in trivial gardening operations whence she could watch the doors that led to the forbidden area. Nicholas wriggled his way with obvious stealth of purpose towards one of the doors.

(a) How did the aunt spend her time in the afternoon?

Answer: In the afternoon, the aunt spent an hour or two in trivial gardening operations whence she could watch the doors that led to the forbidden paradise.

(b) What was the forbidden area?

 Answer: The gooseberry garden was the forbidden area.

(c) Find a word from the extract that means the same as ‘careful movement’.

Answer: Stealth

(d) Why did Nicholas want his aunt to think that he had got into the gooseberry garden?

Answer: Nicholas wanted his aunt to think he had got into the gooseberry garden because he wanted to go to the lumber room.

Question 10: Why did the aunt call out to Nicholas for help?

Answer: The aunt called out to Nicholas for help because she had slipped into the rain-water tank and wasn’t able to get out. She wanted Nicholas to bring the little ladder from under the cherry tree.

Question 11: What reasons did Nicholas give to not rescue the aunt?

Answer: Nicholas gave the following reasons to avoid rescuing the aunt:

(i) He was not allowed to go the gooseberry garden.

(ii) The voice of the lady seeking for help did not sound like that of his aunt’s.

(iii) When he asked if there would be strawberry jam for tea, the lady confirmed. However, the previous day his aunt had said there wasn’t any.

Question 12: Who eventually rescued Nicholas’ aunt?

Answer: The kitchen maid eventually rescued Nicholas’ aunt.

Question 13: Why did the aunt guard the entrance of the gooseberry garden that afternoon?

Answer: The aunt knew that Nicholas would go to the gooseberry garden because she had told him he is not to. Hence, she spent time guarding the entrance of the gooseberry garden because she did not want him to enjoy his detention time in the gooseberry garden.

Question 14: What was the result of organizing the Jagborough expedition hastily?

Answer: When the children arrived at Jagborough Cove, the tide had been at its highest so there was no sand for children to play on. This was the result of organizing the Jagborough expedition hastily.

Question 15: Why was the evening tea partaken of in a fearsome silence?

Answer: The evening tea was partaken of in a fearsome silence because the aunt had suffered undignified and unmerited detention in a rain-water tank for thirty-five minutes. Nicholas too, was silent, in the absorption of one who has much to think about.

Question 16: Why were the rest of children given a special treat?

Answer: Whenever a child was under punishment, the aunt used to organize picnics or something of a festive nature in which the offender was not allowed to participate. The aunt decided to send the other three children to Jagborough as she wanted to punish Nicholas for his disgraceful behaviour at the breakfast table when he had brought a frog and put it in his bread and milk. Thus, the offender was made to feel sorry for his mistake. In this case, to punish Nicholas, she was sending the rest of the children to Jagborough.

Question 17: What did Nicholas see in the lumber room?

Answer: Inside the lumber room, Nicholas found an interesting tapestry picture, candlesticks in the shape of snakes, a teapot fashioned like a china duck, a carved sandalwood box packed with aromatic cotton-wool and brass figures of hump necked bulls, peacocks and goblins and a large square book full of coloured pictures of birds.

Question 18: How did Nicholas mislead his aunt in order to carry out his plan to enter the lumber room?

Answer: Nicholas made frequent trips into the front garden to mislead his aunt and make her believe that he wanted to enter the gooseberry garden, whereas his actual plan was to discover the secret of the lumber room.

Question 19: How did Nicholas spend his time in the lumber room?

Answer: To punish Nicholas, a trip had been arranged to Jagborough without him. He had great fun during this time. First Nicholas misled his aunt to make her believe that he wanted to enter the gooseberry garden, whereas his actual plan was to discover the secret of the lumber room. Nicholas was fascinated with the exhibits of the lumber room as it was a forbidden delight for him. Then his aunt fell into the rain-water tank. Though he knew it was his aunt he acted as if he was talking to someone who was trying to mislead him into entering the forbidden gooseberry garden. Thus, it was a fun-filled day for him.

Question 20: With reference to the story, do children change their behavior for better or worse? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer: As children, we are curious to find out about the things we don’t know. This same behaviour is shown by Nicholas. With punishment, an adult shows aggressiveness which is the exact opposite of the behaviour we expect from the child. Providing abundant positive reinforcement is the best way to reduce misbehavior. Punishment might reduce misbehaviour, but it often has undesirable side effects. A child whose behaviour is punished may react emotionally, strike back or avoid the person giving the punishment like in the case of Nicholas. Hence, it is important to speak to the child about the wrong behaviour and ask him to take responsibility to correct it himself.

So, these were The Lumber Room Questions & Answers.

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A Summary and Analysis of Saki’s ‘The Lumber-Room’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘The Lumber-Room’ is a classic short story about a child who is too clever for the adults. Specifically, it is about how one clever but mischievous boy, Nicholas, seeks to outwit his aunt so he can gain access to the lumber-room with its hidden treasures and curiosities. But the story might also be viewed as an analysis of the nature of obedience, and the limited adult view of the world, when contrasted with the child’s more expansive and imaginative outlook. You can read ‘The Lumber-Room’ here .

In his Biography , Saki – real name Hector Hugh Munro – recalled his childhood of the 1870s, in which ‘the flower and vegetable gardens were surrounded by high walls and a hedge, and on rainy days we were kept indoors’ where the ‘windows [were] shut and shuttered’. It may be, then, that the adult Munro – reinvented as the Edwardian fiction-writer Saki – was recalling his own upbringing in ‘The Lumber-Room’, which sees the young Nicholas being kept indoors as punishment, deprived of the ‘treat’ of a trip to Jagborough Sands and denied access to the gooseberry garden outside the house.

But Nicholas is smarter than the aunt who endeavours to keep him indoors. First of all, he is told he will not be allowed to accompany his siblings on their day trip, because he refused to eat his bread-and-milk:

Only that morning he had refused to eat his wholesome bread-and-milk on the seemingly frivolous ground that there was a frog in it. Older and wiser and better people had told him that there could not possibly be a frog in his bread-and-milk and that he was not to talk nonsense; he continued, nevertheless, to talk what seemed the veriest nonsense, and described with much detail the coloration and markings of the alleged frog. The dramatic part of the incident was that there really was a frog in Nicholas’s basin of bread-and-milk; he had put it there himself, so he felt entitled to know something about it. The sin of taking a frog from the garden and putting it into a bowl of wholesome bread-and-milk was enlarged on at great length, but the fact that stood out clearest in the whole affair, as it presented itself to the mind of Nicholas, was that the older, wiser, and better people had been proved to be profoundly in error in matters about which they had expressed the utmost assurance.

This provides the essence of Nicholas’ character, and of ‘The Lumber-Room’: Nicholas’ aunt is mistaken in thinking that there isn’t a frog in his food, but only because she fails to ‘know her enemy’ and realise that Nicholas is the just the sort of boy who would have a frog in his food, if only because he’s also the sort of boy who would put one there.

This failure of imagination, a failure to ‘read’ Nicholas and interpret the kind of person he is, represents the beginning of his aunt’s downfall.

As punishment – for refusing to eat his food, remember, not for putting a frog in said food – Nicholas is kept indoors all day while the other children are out playing. Once again, Nicholas outwits his aunt, convincing her that he longs to go exploring in the gooseberry garden, and thus decoying her into keeping stern watch on the garden, since she fully expects him to attempt to break out into that fruity paradise.

But this is just a distraction, since, knowing that he now has his aunt out the way, Nicholas is able to steal the key that unlocks the lumber-room of the house, and gain access to that forbidden chamber of secrets. Among other things, a tapestry catches his eye and fires his imagination:

A man, dressed in the hunting costume of some remote period, had just transfixed a stag with an arrow; it could not have been a difficult shot because the stag was only one or two paces away from him; in the thickly growing vegetation that the picture suggested it would not have been difficult to creep up to a feeding stag, and the two spotted dogs that were springing forward to join in the chase had evidently been trained to keep to heel till the arrow was discharged. That part of the picture was simple, if interesting, but did the huntsman see, what Nicholas saw, that four galloping wolves were coming in his direction through the wood?

His aunt, believing she must have missed him when he crept out into that gooseberry garden, goes looking for him, and ends up falling into the rain-water tank. She calls for Nicholas to come and help her to get out, but he tells her that he has been forbidden to set foot in the garden:

‘I told you not to, and now I tell you that you may,’ came the voice from the rain-water tank, rather impatiently.

‘Your voice doesn’t sound like aunt’s,’ objected Nicholas; ‘you may be the Evil One tempting me to be disobedient. Aunt often tells me that the Evil One tempts me and that I always yield. This time I’m not going to yield.’

‘Don’t talk nonsense,’ said the prisoner in the tank; ‘go and fetch the ladder.’

‘Will there be strawberry jam for tea?’ asked Nicholas innocently.

‘Certainly there will be,’ said the aunt, privately resolving that Nicholas should have none of it.

‘Now I know that you are the Evil One and not aunt,’ shouted Nicholas gleefully; ‘when we asked aunt for strawberry jam yesterday she said there wasn’t any. I know there are four jars of it in the store cupboard, because I looked, and of course you know it’s there, but she doesn’t, because she said there wasn’t any. Oh, Devil, you have sold yourself!’

There was an unusual sense of luxury in being able to talk to an aunt as though one was talking to the Evil One, but Nicholas knew, with childish discernment, that such luxuries were not to be over-indulged in.

Note the use of ‘childish discernment’ in that final paragraph: in ‘The Lumber-Room’ it is the child who is discerning, not the adult. ‘Childishness’ is thus turned on its head (Saki could easily have written ‘childlike’ and spoilt the effect with too much romanticism), and – in a paradoxical inversion that suggests Saki’s near-contemporary (and fellow wit), Oscar Wilde, the old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, and the young know everything.

‘The Lumber-Room’ ends with Nicholas walking away and leaving his aunt to be rescued by a kitchen-maid, on the grounds that he would be going against her own orders if he strayed into the forbidden garden to rescue her. The child turns the adult’s punitive rules against her; in doing so, he outwits her, adding her own lie – about there being no jam to have for tea – to the list of charges. Nicholas’ mind returns to the tapestry he had been captivated by in the lumber-room:

As for Nicholas, he, too, was silent, in the absorption of one who has much to think about; it was just possible, he considered, that the huntsman would escape with his hounds while the wolves feasted on the stricken stag.

If this makes the aunt a liar and a hypocrite, seemingly happy to disregard her own commands when it means saving herself from more time in the water-tank, then Nicholas is hardly innocent himself. In summary, he is the epitome of the mischievous child. ‘Nicholas’ suggests not only St Nicholas, patron saint of children, but also ‘Old Nick’, one of many nicknames for the Devil, a nod to Nicholas’ wayward and roguish nature.

But in ‘The Lumber-Room’ it is the aunt who Nicholas fiendishly identifies with the Devil; and in at least one analysis or interpretation of ‘The Lumber-Room’, he’d be right. Social convention is stifling and dull; the imagination should not be caged by religiously observed rules. The delicious wit and enterprise of Nicholas is what thrills us in the story; his aunt, we feel, belongs in that water-tank with all the other boring adults.

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9 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Saki’s ‘The Lumber-Room’”

Love this story. Definitely one of Saki’s best. Nicholas is a brilliant protagonist, and his clever use of adult logic against the adults themselves is delightful.

Reblogged this on Greek Canadian Literature .

• Pingback: A Short Analysis of Saki’s ‘The Lumber-Room’ – worldtraveller70

To be honest not one of my favourites – Tobermory is wonderfully wicked, and When William Came is chilling. Tried either of them?

Agreed, ‘Tobermory’ is one of the funniest stories I’ve read (and I love anything with a talking cat). Not read When William Came yet – will have to seek it out :)

If you think Tobermory is funny you will enjoy Dostoyevsky’s The Crocodile! Perhaps you have read it? Who said Fyodor didnt have a sense of humour!

I haven’t read it, but I have it somewhere – will have to read it on your recommendation! :)

When William Came is brilliant. The William of the title is Kaiser Bill, and the longish story is set in an alternative future England which has lost the then imminent First World War. The story’s ending is incredibly powerful, made all the more so by the knowledge of how Munro was die himself. It forms a key text in the much ignored genre of ‘Invasion’ literature.

• Pingback: A Summary and Analysis of Saki’s ‘Tobermory’ | Interesting Literature

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Class 7 :: English Literature :: The Lumber - Room by Saki (Hector Hugh Munro)

The Lumber - Room

 by Saki (Hector Hugh Munro)

COMPREHESION

1. Answer the following questions.

a. Why did the aunt decide to sent the children to Jagborough? Why was Nicholas not included in the party?

= The aunt decided  to sent the children to Jagborough as a special treat.

Nicholas was not included in the party as he was in disgrace.

b. What was the aunt in the habit of doing when any one of the children fell from grace?

= When any one of the children fell from grace, the aunt used to rigorously debar him or her from the festival occasion improvised by herself.

c. What did the aunt do when all the children had done something wrong?

= W hen all the children had done something wrong, they were suddenly informed of a circus in a neighbouring town and were taken to that.

d. How did Nicholas get the better of his aunt when the other children set off on the expedition?

=  Nicholas got the better of his aunt when the other children set off on the expedition by merely shedding a few decent tears to bid them good bye.

e. What did the aunt think to herself when she saw the look of obstinacy on Nicholas' face (after she had said he must not enter the gooseberry garden)?

= W hen she saw the look of obstinacy on Nicholas' face (after she had said he must not enter the gooseberry garden), the aunt thought that he was determined to get into the gooseberry garden only because she had told him not to do so.

f. Why did Nicholas make many trips into the front garden? Why did the aunt spend so much time in the garden, although she had other work to do?

=  Nicholas made many trips into the front garden to make his aunt believe that he intended to enter into the gooseberry garden and she got busy to keep an eye on him.

T he aunt spent so much time in the garden, although she had other work to do, to keep a watchful eye on the two doors that led to the forbidden paradise i.e. the gooseberry garden.

g. How did Nicholas spend his time in the lumber-room?

= In the lumber-room, Nicholas spent his time by observing many items stored there. First and foremost, he took his attention to the framed tapestry picture. He was imagining the possibilities of the scene of the painting. Then quaint, twisted, snake-shaped candlesticks took his attention.

Then he discovered a teapot fashioned like a china duck. And there were a carved sandalwood box packed tight with aromatic cotton wool, and between the layers of cotton-wool were little brass figures, humped necked bulls, and peacocks and goblins, delightful to see and to hand. Then Nicholas got mesmerised by a large square book with coloured pictures of birds inside it.

h. Did Nicholas really think his aunt was the Evil One?

= No,  Nicholas did not really think his aunt was the Evil One. He was just trying to beguile her to catch him entering into the Lumber-room.

These questions are more difficult. Discuss them first.

i. Pick out the most amusing sentence (or sentences) in the story describing an incident. Say why you think it is amusing.

=  'Your voice doesn't sound like Aunt's,' objected Nicholas; 'you may be the Evil One tempting me to be disobedient. Aunt often tells me that the Evil One tempts me and that I always yield. This time I'm not going to yield.

I think, the above sentences are the most amusing sentences in the story describing an incident. The Aunt kept on guarding in front of the gooseberry garden. Then she went into it to look for Nicholas. But Nicholas was shrewd to beguile her and went to the lumber-room. The Aunt had slipped into the rainwater tank and confined there. She was calling Nicholas from there and he intentionally addressed her as the Evil One who tempted her to do evil things. But this time he would not listen to her and come to rescue her. Nicholas took revenge against his Aunt's deeds very wittily.

j. Nicholas is involved in  a number of incidents and conversations. Give examples to show the following:

i. his intelligence.

= At the terminating time in the lumber-room, the Aunt was calling him. There was a possibility for somebody to come quickly. Nicholas shut the book, restored it carefully to its place in a corner, and shook some dust from a neighbouring pile of newspaper over it. Then he crept from the room, locked the door and replaced the key exactly where he had found it. He did all this very intelligently so that no one can suspect anything.

ii. his creativity.

= The gooseberry garden had two doors by which it might be entered. Nicholas could slip in there and disappear from view amid the masking growth of artichokes, raspberry canes and and fruit bushes.

iii. his imagination.

=  Nicholas saw some extra features in the piece of framed tapestry and the possibilities of the events painted there. He saw that four galloping wolves were coming in the huntsman's direction through the wood. There might be more than four of them hidden behind the trees, and in any case would the man and his dogs be able to cope with the four wolves or not if they made attack. The man had only two arrows left in his quiver, and he might miss with one or both of them. Even at the end of the story, while Nicholas was at the eat table, he was imagining that the huntsman would escape with his hounds while the wolves feasted on the stricken stag.

iv. his dislike of authority.

= That morning Nicholas had refused to eat his bread-and-milk on the seemingly frivolous ground that there was a frog in it. Older and wiser and better people had told him that there could not possibly be a frog in his bread-and-milk and that he was not to talk nonsense. He did not like this authority of the the older, wiser and better people. To prove them profoundly wrong, he put a frog in his basin of bread-and-milk. 

2. Answer the following with reference to context.

a. "The dramatic part of the incident was that there really was a frog in Nicholas' basin of bread-and-milk."

i. When did the incident take place?

= The incident took place in that very morning on which the Aunt had decided to sent the other children to the sand at Jagborough.

ii. What were the other parts to the incident?

=  That morning Nicholas had refused to eat his bread-and-milk on the seemingly frivolous ground that there was a frog in it.

iii. What was the result of the incident?

= By doing this, Nicholas fell from disgrace. As a result of it, the Aunt did not send him to the sand at Jagborough. He was not to be of the party. He had to stay at home along with the Aunt.

iv. Did everyone believe that Nicholas was telling the truth?

=  Older and wiser and better people had told him that there could not possibly be a frog in his bread-and-milk and that he was not to talk nonsense. He did not like this authority of the the older, wiser and better people. To prove them profoundly wrong, he put a frog in his basin of bread-and-milk.

b. "He told you twice, but you weren't listening."

i. Who is speaking and to whom?

= Nicholas is speaking to the Aunt.

ii. What, according to the speaker, had been told twice?

= According to the speaker, Bobby had told her that his boots were hurting him as they were too tight.

iii. What did the listener do immediately after hearing this statement? Why?

= The listener forbade Nicholas to go into the gooseberry garden immediately after hearing this statement.

Nicholas had already fallen from disgrace that day by putting a frog in his basin of bread-and-milk. In addition to that he is accusing the Aunt that she often didn't listen to them when they tell them important things. This made the Aunt angry and she took the decision.

About the Author:

The author of 'The Lumber-Room', Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916), wrote under the pen name Saki. He had a distinct style of his own and many of the authors of short stories after his time tried to imitate his style. Saki's stories are full of wit and humour and his very sharp attacks are directed mainly towards the upper-middle classes of his time (the Edwardian era).

In this amusing short story you would have seen how a young boy, Nicholas, wins a battle of wits fought against his extremely bossy 'aunt'. You should have noticed that Saki's style of writing is quite different from the writing of other authors whose work is included in this book.

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The Lumber Room

8 questions

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Which two characters were involved in the main conflict of the story?

Nicholas's cousins

Nicholas's aunt

Cousin's aunt

A kitchen maid

What was the reason of misbehaviour of Nicholas and not going to the sands at Jagborough? (Choose 2 answers)

A frog in the basin of bread-and-milk

The desire to prove his correctness to older and wiser and better people

Entering the Lumer room

Not saving the aunt from the rain-water tank

In the short story 'The Lumber Room' by Saki, where do the other kids go for the day?

To the beach

To the cinema

To the arcade

To their uncle's house

What problems are presented in the given short story? (Choose 2 answers)

unhappy marriage

relationship between different generations

the problem of upbringing children

relationship between men and women

How does the story end?

Everybody is happy

Everybody keeps silent

Everybody is sad

Everybody is drinking tea with strawberry jam

List the things Nickolas sees in the lumber room:

Indian hangings

twisted candlesticks

Who saved the aunt from the rain-water tank?

A Kitchen Maid

Which of the following is true about Nicholas?

He is extraordinarily honest

He is creative

He is a golden boy

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The Lumber Room

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The Lumber Room

by Saki (H.H. Munro)

The lumber room summary and analysis of paragraphs 1 – 14.

Narrated by an unnamed third-person omniscient narrator, “ The Lumber Room ” is set in an English country home in the early 1900s. The story opens with Nicholas , the story’s protagonist, having to stay home while his cousins and younger brother are treated to a day at the beach at Jagborough.

The narrator explains that Nicholas is in trouble with the adults because that morning he refused to eat breakfast, claiming there was a frog in his bowl of bread and milk. The “older and wiser and better” adults insisted it was nonsense, but there really was a frog: Nicholas had put it in the bowl himself. He pointed out their mistake, proud to have proved them wrong.

To punish Nicholas for his “disgraceful” behavior, Nicholas’s aunt decides the other children’s good behavior should be rewarded with a spontaneous beach trip. The narrator comments that Nicholas’s aunt is actually his cousins’ aunt, but she acts and speaks as if she is his aunt too. It is her habit to invent something fun to do whenever one of the children behaves badly, in order to exclude that child from the fun. When all the children do something to get in trouble, she pretends that there is suddenly a circus in town and all the children, for their sins, will not have the privilege of seeing the elephants.

Nicholas’s aunt hopes to see Nicholas crying as the others leave for the beach. In fact, the only person who cries is his cousin: she scrapes her knee against the step as she is scrambling into the carriage. As the carriage drives off with none of the high spirits that it normally would, Nicholas cheerfully reflects on how loudly his cousin is howling in pain. His aunt says she will soon get over it and that it will be a glorious afternoon for running about on the beach.

Nicholas gives a grim chuckle and says Bobby won’t enjoy running because his boots are too tight and are hurting him. The aunt asks why Bobby didn’t tell her. Nicholas says he told her twice but she wasn’t listening. He adds that she often doesn’t listen when they tell her important things.

The aunt changes the subject: she tells him he isn’t allowed to go into the gooseberry garden while he is “in disgrace.” Nicholas understands why she forbids him: he would be perfectly happy to be grounded if allowed in the garden. He assumes an expression of stubbornness. His aunt understands that Nicholas will now try to get into the gooseberry garden if only because she has told him not to.

The narrator comments that there are two doors leading to the garden. Once someone as small as Nicholas slips in an entrance, he can be hidden from view under artichokes, raspberry canes, and fruit bushes. Although the aunt has lots to do this afternoon, she spends an hour or two doing trivial gardening chores. From the flowerbeds and shrubberies she can keep a watchful eye on the two doors leading to the “forbidden paradise.” The narrator comments that she has few ideas, but an immense capacity for concentration.

Saki—the pen name of Hector Hugh (H.H.) Munro—begins “The Lumber Room” by establishing the story’s premise: For his disobedient and disruptive behavior, Nicholas must stay home while his brother and cousins are treated to a trip to the beach.

Saki’s narrator explains that the situation came about because Nicholas put a frog in his bowl of milk and bread at breakfast. Needing to punish him, Nicholas’s aunt invented the trip to Jagborough beach only so that Nicholas would be excluded. With this premise, Saki introduces readers to his characteristic playful wit and the story’s major themes of mischief and authority.

When the aunt sends off the other children in a horse-drawn carriage, Saki introduces the theme of defiance: while the aunt hopes Nicholas will cry at being left out, in an instance of situational irony he defies her expectations by laughing at the misfortune of his cousin, who scraped her knee when climbing into the carriage.

Nicholas continues to defy his aunt’s authority by mischievously informing her—but only once it is too late—that his brother Bobby’s boots were tied too tight. In retaliation for Nicholas’s smugness, the aunt adds an additional punishment to his grounding: He is not allowed to enter the gooseberry garden. Nicholas acts as though he is dismayed by the rule, and makes sure to manipulate his face into a look of stubborn defiance.

The look of obstinacy convinces Nicholas’s aunt that he will try to defy her authority yet again, if only because she has expressly forbidden him from entering the gooseberry garden. She sets up an observation position among the flowerbeds, from where she can catch Nicholas when he attempts to sneak into the gooseberry garden. But she doesn’t realize Nicholas has other plans.

The Lumber Room Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Lumber Room is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Mischief is the dominant theme in "The Lumber Room." From the beginning to the end of the story, Saki delights the reader with Nicholas's persistent playful misbehavior. In the opening scene, the narrator details how Nicholas complains of a frog...

'Nicholas is not at fault for his conduct in the short story 'The Lumber Room'.

Nicholas is just a precocious child who uses his intelligence to outsmart his domineering aunt. Ultimately, Nicholas's penchant for mischief makes the boredom of living under his aunt's rigid control bearable.

What are the similarities between aunt and Nicholas?

I don't see many similarities between Nicholas and his aunt. He is mischievious, smart, and imaginative, and disobedient. His aunt is short-sighted and without imagination. Her moments of deceit aren't good natured. The only time I really see a...

Study Guide for The Lumber Room

The Lumber Room study guide contains a biography of Saki (H.H. Munro), literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Lumber Room
• The Lumber Room Summary
• Character List