There Really Is a Frog in Nicholas's Breakfast (Situational Irony)
At breakfast, Nicholas complains about the frog in his bowl of bread and milk. His aunt assumes he is making up nonsense, and goes to great lengths to tell him so. However, Nicholas reveals that there really is a frog in his breakfast—he put one there himself. In this instance of situational irony, Saki undermines the reader's and aunt's expectations that Nicholas is making things up to get attention by revealing that the frog Nicholas complains about actually exists.
I Can See You All the Time (Dramatic Irony)
While Nicholas's aunt searches the gooseberry garden for Nicholas, she says aloud, "It's no use trying to hide there; I can see you all the time." In this instance of dramatic irony, the reader understands how wrong the aunt's statement is. Because the reader knows she has been unaware of Nicholas's whereabouts long enough to allow him to get into the lumber room, her would-be threat is comically empty.
Nicholas Is the Only One Happy At Tea Time (Situational Irony)
At the end of the day on which the story takes place, Nicholas's aunt and his cousins and his brother are noticeably silent. No one has had a good day, especially the aunt, who is humiliated to have fallen in a rain-water tank and have been at the mercy of Nicholas. In an instance of situational irony, Nicholas is the only one who is silent—not because he is unhappy, but because he is remembering the beautiful and compelling tapestry he saw in the lumber room. Although the day began with Nicholas being punished for his mischief, it ends with him having thoroughly enjoyed his punishment.
