# Unknown — Fifty-One Tales character guide > Unknown in Fifty-One Tales by Lord Dunsany. **Role:** major **Also known as:** myself, yer **First appearance:** 0000-the-assignation ## Snapshot A restless dreamer who wanders from factory cities to the edge of Hell, reporting what the gods and the earth confide to anyone listening. ## Who they are This first-person presence drifts through Dunsany's tales as witness, petitioner, and eavesdropper — praying to a snout-faced idol, overhearing Mother Earth murmur of dreams and battles, and watching the beasts quarrel over a race. He is less a personality than a sensibility: curious, compassionate, faintly melancholy, always arriving where mortals and immortals collide. His wanderings give the collection its connective tissue, letting each fable open like something he stumbled into by night. ## In the story ### [The Assignation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-assignation) The poet who toils for Fame and is scorned by her. ### [Charon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/charon) The last man, a silent and shivering shade who delivers the final revelation. ### [The Death of Pan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-death-of-pan) Implied narrator observing the scene and recounting the events. ### [The Sphinx at Giza](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-sphinx-at-giza) The narrator observes the Sphinx and Time, expressing a desire to bind and blind Time. ### [The Hen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-hen) The narrator observes and recounts the hen's journey and the poultry's reaction. ### [Wind and Fog](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/wind-and-fog) Observes the confrontation between the North Wind and the fog, then flees from the fog's dreadful recitation. ### [The Raft-Builders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-raft-builders) The narrator reflects on the nature of writing and oblivion. ### [The Workman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-workman) The narrator observes the workman's fall and later encounters his ghost, reflecting on the futility of ambition. ### [The Guest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-guest) The young man who dines and converses with Death. ### [Death and the Orange](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/death-and-the-orange) The narrator describes the scene from an external perspective. ### [The Prayer of the Flowers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-prayer-of-the-flowers) The narrator stands between railway embankments and hears both the flowers' cry and Pan's reply. ### [The Little City](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-little-city) The narrator observes the little city from the train and reflects on the impermanence of human works. ### [The Worm and the Angel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-worm-and-the-angel) The narrator describes the scene of the worm and the angel. ### [The Songless Country](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-songless-country) The poet who attempts to bring songs to a songless country. ### [The Latest Thing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-latest-thing) The narrator observes the unclean-feeder and converses with the poet. ### [The Demagogue and the Demimonde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-demagogue-and-the-demimonde) The narrator recounts the parable of the demagogue and the demimondaine at Paradise's gate. ### [The Giant Poppy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-giant-poppy) The narrator dreams of returning to the hills and encounters the poet and the giant poppy. ### [Roses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/roses) The narrator observes the wild roses and reflects on memory, loss, and the persistence of beauty. ### [The Man with the Golden Earrings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-man-with-the-golden-earrings) The narrator, who meets the last pirate at the docks and marvels at his story. ### [The Dream of King Karna-Vootra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-dream-of-king-karna-vootra) The narrator is King Karna-Vootra, who recounts his dream. ### [The Storm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-storm) The narrator recounts the tale of the Petite Espérance and the onlookers' reaction. ### [Alone the Immortals](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/alone-the-immortals) The narrator journeys to the valley of dead years, seeks to mourn them, and encounters the immortal years. ### [The Return of Song](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-return-of-song) The dreamer who ascends to Valhalla and questions a humble god. ### [How the Enemy Came to Thlūnrāna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/how-the-enemy-came-to-thl-nr-na) The man from the black-thatched cottage who braves Thlūnrāna and laughs at its inner mystery. ### [A Losing Game](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/a-losing-game) The narrator, referred to as Man, engages Death in a tavern, trying to cheer his opponent. ### [Taking Up Picadilly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/taking-up-picadilly) The narrator observes the workmen and questions their activity. ### [After the Fire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/after-the-fire) The narrator recounts the post-apocalyptic scene and the aliens' discovery. ### [The City](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-city) The narrator observes the city and its inhabitants, then departs before the doom falls. ### [The Lonely Idol](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-lonely-idol) The narrator who discovers the forgotten idol and prays to it out of compassion. ### [The Sphinx in Thebes (Massachusetts)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-sphinx-in-thebes-massachusetts) The narrator recounts the tale of the woman and the sphinx. ### [The Reward](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-reward) The narrator, a traveler from a factory city, encounters an angel building Hell and attempts to reason with him. ### [The Trouble in Leafy Green Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-trouble-in-leafy-green-street) The narrator recounts the woman's purchase of the idol and her subsequent doom. ### [The Mist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-mist) The narrator seeks a prophet to understand why the mist weeps. ### [Lobster Salad](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/lobster-salad) The narrator recounts a vivid dream of climbing a palace wall and escaping apes by waking with a pin. ### [The Return of the Exiles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-return-of-the-exiles) The narrator encounters two strange old men and later witnesses a ritual at Stonehenge, leaving when the situation becomes unsettling. ### [The Song of the Blackbird](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-song-of-the-blackbird) The poet who understands bird language and listens to the blackbird's story. ### [The Messengers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-messengers) The narrator is called by the Muses but resists delivering their message to the Golden Town, arguing the city has fallen from grace. ### [The Three Tall Sons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-three-tall-sons) The narrator describes the rise of civilization and the arrival of Nature's sons. ### [Compromise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/compromise) The narrator describes the city's construction and the earthquake's response. ### [The Poet Speaks with Earth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-poet-speaks-with-earth) The poet-narrator who roams the stars and speaks with Mother Earth, trying to make her recall human accomplishments. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/unknown_narrator - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters