morning, noon
`` At mischief again , of course : always at it . '' Mrs Potter said this angrily , and with much emphasis , as she seized her son by the arm and dragged him out of a pool of dirty water , into which he had tumbled . `` Always at mischief of one sort or another , he is , '' continued Mrs Potter , with increasing wrath , `` morning , noon , and night -- he is ; tumblin ' about an ' smashin ' things for ever he does ; he 'll break my heart at last -- he will . There : take that ! '' `` That , '' which poor little Tommy was desired to take , was a sounding box on the ear , accompanied by a violent shake of the arm which would have drawn that limb out of its socket if the child 's bones and muscles had not been very tightly strung together . Mrs Potter was a woman of large body and small brain .