 Kutzer thinks the tale has a " nightmarish quality " . Poor Mrs. Tittlemouse cannot keep one step ahead of the various intruders . Although the house is her own , she has no control over who inhabits it : she finds bees nesting in an empty storeroom and woodlice hiding in the plate rack . She is trapped in her own home , her hours occupied with fighting off invaders from without to the point where she is sure she will " go distracted " . Although Mr. Jackson drives the unwanted intruders away , he leaves behind a mess of honey smears , moss , thistledown , and dirty footprints that Mrs. Tittlemouse invests two weeks of her life into cleaning up . 
