The Lumber Room (Symbol)
The lumber room to which Nicholas gains access is a symbol of the imagination. Barred from entering the room, to which only adults usually have access, Nicholas's imagination runs wild as he thinks about the delicate and beautiful objects the lumber room must contain. Once he tricks his aunt into being distracted in the garden, Nicholas quickly retrieves the key and enters the lumber room, which fulfills his imagination. There is a brilliant tapestry, candlesticks twisted like snakes, a duck-shaped teapot, and an illustrated book full of birds he has never seen. When Nicholas is inside the lumber room, he hardly notices time passing as he invents backstories for the objects he takes in. His powerful imagination makes up a life story for the mandarin duck in the picture book, and he considers how the huntsman on the tapestry will fare against the wolves approaching him from the forest. At the end of the story, the lumber room continues to activate Nicholas's imagination: the only child who is content at the end of the day, Nicholas continues speculating on what the huntsman will do.
Frog in Breakfast Bowl (Symbol)
The frog Nicholas puts in his breakfast bowl is a symbol of defiance and mischief. While the aunt, who is invested in propriety, tries to keep Nicholas and his cousins following her rules and acting demure, Nicholas undermines her oppressive authority by being defiant, spontaneous, and clever. When Nicholas first complains of the frog in his bowl, his aunt assumes he is making up nonsense to get attention and be disruptive. But she does not predict the extent of Nicholas's mischief. Nicholas, however, predicts her reaction, and so makes the frog a reality by bringing one in from the garden.
Nicholas Outsmarts His Aunt (Motif)
From the outset of the story, Nicholas is continually outsmarting his aunt. The motif begins with Nicholas proving her wrong at the breakfast table by showing her that there actually is a frog in his bread and milk bowl. He put the frog there himself, but the fact remains: when his aunt said he was talking nonsense, she was wrong. Nicholas continues to outsmart his aunt when she bars him from accessing the gooseberry garden. Nicholas pretends as if he is trying to get to the garden door, allowing her to think he is trying to disobey her, all so he may keep her occupied outside while he enters the lumber room unnoticed. The motif returns toward the end of the story when the aunt needs Nicholas's help to get out of the rain-water tank. Reminding her that she forbade him entry to the gooseberry garden, Nicholas refuses to go fetch the ladder that could help her out. He even claims she must be the Devil, because only the Devil would know of the strawberry jam of which his aunt claimed the day before there was none.
