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A MORTIFYING MISTAKE, by             Poem Explanation        
First Line: I studied my tables over and over, and backward and forward, too
Last Line: "answered, ""mary ann!"
Subject(s): Children; Dolls; Errors; Mathematics; Toys; Childhood; Mistakes; Fallacies


I STUDIED my tables over and over, and backward
and forward, too;
But I couldn't remember six times nine, and I
didn't know what to do,
Till sister told me to play with my doll, and not
to bother my head.
"If you call her 'Fifty-four' for a while, you'll
learn it by heart," she said.
So I took my favorite, Mary Ann (though
thought 'twas a dreadful shame
To give such a perfectly lovely child such a per
fectly horrid name),
And I called her my dear little "Fifty-four" a
hundred times, till I knew
The answer of six times nine as well as the
answer of two times two.
Next day Elizabeth Wigglesworth, who always
acts so proud,
Said, "Six times nine is fifty-two," and I nearly
laughed aloud!
But I wished I hadn't when teacher said, "Now,
Dorothy, tell if you can."
For I thought of my doll and -- sakes alive! -- I
answered, "Mary Ann!"




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