The Little Man Who Wasn't There

by Helen MacDonald Simmons in Mathematics and Humor
Arithmetic's hero
The fat little zero
He's nothing at all, you say?
 
Then come with me
I want you to see
Our hero at work and at play!
 
With One, when he flirts
At the left of her skirts
He's done nothing at all, has he.
 
When he stands at her right
He's given her might --
Ten times as great is she.
 
Add him to One
And nothing is done
Each word that I say is true.
 
The same you can say
When you take him away
It's the easiest thing you can do.
 
But the damage was done
When he multiplied One
She completely vanished they say.
 
The same he would do
To a three or a two
He treats them all the same way.
 
Take warning and never
Try to be clever --
Division by zero don't trust.
 
I'm warning you now
It matters not how
Your answer will blow up and bust!
 


Click here for a comic strip about Zero